Manchester United drew 2-2 away with Lyon. As a result, the team, including Cameroon goalkeeper Andre Onana, came under heavy criticism.
Onana, with 8 errors and the most goals conceded in the Premier League due to mistakes, and the criticism from former Manchester United player Nemanja Matic, had the spotlight on him.
Manager Amorim deflected the rising media criticism from his players and took the responsibility on himself.
“If you look at this season, in the last few games and months, I’ve made more mistakes than them,”
“There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him, so the most important thing is to be natural, and when the time comes, I will choose the best XI to play. But I really trust Andre.”
“We continue to do the same thing. We train, watch the games, and try to choose the best eleven to win every match,”
United will host Lyon next Thursday, and this is their last chance. If they are eliminated from this tournament, they may not qualify for Europe next season due to their current position of 13th in the Premier League.
If they win the tournament, they will gain automatic qualification for the Champions League.
Onana’s performance in this match was heavily criticized, especially by the fans. The Cameroon goalkeeper failed to react to Thiago Almada’s free-kick in the 25th minute, which led to his team conceding the first goal.
Additionally, in the final moments of the match, United was leading 2-1, but Onana’s mistake in spilling the ball allowed Rayan Cherki to score from the rebound, costing United the win.
Former England player Aaron Lennon pointed out that Onana’s teammates might be very angry with him:
“Two big mistakes,”
“He should have saved both, in my opinion, and today he cost United.”
Amorim, standing behind his player, stated:
“Our team is one where when one player makes a mistake, the whole team makes a mistake, and we continue like that.”
Although the manager stands by his player, Onana’s future at United continues to be an ever-growing question mark.