Andre Onana gives honest interview after blunder on Man United home debut | OneFootball

Highlights

Andre Onana has spoken out after conceding from 40 yards out against RC Lens, claiming he is to blame, and any criticism is welcome.

The goalkeeper is set to be under intense scrutiny and watched with a keen eye by many fans as he replaces David de Gea after the Spaniard's 12-year spell at the club came to an end in the summer.

De Gea was a very divisive figure among Manchester United fans towards the end of his time at Old Trafford, as he was always viewed as an excellent shot-stopper, but perhaps not on the same level as other modern goalkeepers when it came to playing out from the back.

His replacement is the polar opposite in this regard, as shown by his Champions League final performance against Manchester City, where he showed remarkable composure to spray passes to his teammates under intense pressure from Erling Haaland.

Onana's United career has started in the same fashion, as he looks as comfortable as an outfield player with the ball at his feet which in turn gives his defenders in front of him more confidence that there are no costly errors around the corner. The jury is still out on the aspect of the game that his predecessor excelled in, with there not being enough evidence of his shot-stopping abilities thus far.

During his home debut at the club against RC Lens, the man between the posts had a nightmare moment inside the opening half an hour.

Andre Onana beaten from 40 yards on Old Trafford debut

Forward, Florian Sotoca, latched onto a sloppy pass from Diogo Dalot just past the half-way line and used his initiative to quickly shoot to catch out the United keeper.

With Onana positioned on the edge of his penalty area when possession was lost, the ball flew over his head and into the net before he could recover, as he was also sent crashing into the goal during his attempt at a save.

Admittedly, this was a horror start in front of his new home fans, but it is always good to get these errors out of the way before the competitive games kick off.It will be an area for other teams to try and exploit in the future, but the Cameroonian will be more alert to the possibility of being embarrassed again.

In the end, there was no real damage done as United mounted a second-half comeback to win 3-1 thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony and Casemiro.

Onana accepts responsibility for his error

Fans of the club will be delighted to see their new man take full accountability for the error he made rather than trying to hide behind excuses.

Onana is a confident figure that doesn't mind speaking his mind and he let everyone know where his thoughts were after the match concluded.

During his post-match interview, the new United number one said: "I am responsible for everything, especially when conceding a goal. I am proud of what my defenders did."This immediately puts the burden for the conceded goal entirely upon his shoulders which is a strong leadership quality as he defends his teammates well. He continued: "I am the big man at the back, so I take all the criticism and all the pressure."

A warm welcome for the new Man United number one

When asked about the reception he was given for his first home game, Onana said: "Amazing, amazing. This was a great welcome for me.

"He also had a look ahead to the coming weeks: "I am happy for the victory, today was important, and now we get ready for the coming games."

With a home game against Wolves in just one week, Onana will be looking to get a clean sheet in his first competitive appearance for his new club.

So far, he is yet to keep an opposing team out during his three friendly games against Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and RC Lens.

Onana's teammates bail him out in resounding victory

Ahead of the game kicking off, Rasmus Hojlund was introduced to his new supporters following the confirmation of his move from Atalanta.

The first half of the game saw a frustrating time in front of goal for the hosts as Onana's fellow new signing, Mason Mount, missed a gilt-edged opportunity to open the scoring from close range.

A lack of confidence and a bit of bad luck can be attributed to the miss after the £55 million signing endured a tough season at Chelsea in 2022/23.

Mason Mount smiles for a picture on his first day at Manchester United after signing for them from Chelsea.

With the Onana mistake, coupled with a fine strike from Sotoca, the home side found themselves behind heading into the break.

Shortly after the break, the English side made their dominance count as Rashford fired past former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper, Brice Samba, via the help of a deflection.

A quick counter-attack moments later saw United take the lead as Alejandro Garnacho slotted the ball through for Antony to finish well into the far corner.

One of the more bizarre goals seen in pre-season wrapped up the victory as Rashford headed the ball into Casemiro, before it found its way into the back of the net, much to the Brazilian's surprise.

This was the team's last opportunity to get practise in before the real action begins next week against Wolves.

Could Onana be the future captain of Manchester United?

The decision to change the skipper was taken by Erik ten Hag earlier in the summer as Harry Maguire was stripped of the armband.

Bruno Fernandes was deemed the man to take on the mantle, which comes with huge responsibility.

The Portuguese midfielder wore the armband on many occasions last season due to Maguire's absence and clearly did enough to earn the trust of his manager in the role.

His win-at-all-costs attitude is both his best and worst quality at times, and he is not expected to give up his leadership role any time soon. Perhaps for as long as he stays at the club.

Onana's honesty and willingness to accept blame for his own mistakes could put him in contention for the vice-captain job in the future, meaning he would be the captain in Fernandes' absence. He has surely at least put his name in the hat for any future decisions that are to be made.