Lyon 2-2 Man Utd (Almada 25′, Cherki 90+5 | Yoro 45+5, Zirkzee 88′)
Andre Onana started this season like the goalkeeper Manchester United felt was worthy of replacing David de Gea two years ago.
There were big saves at crucial moments to earn United points and prevent further disappointment – just as De Gea made his calling card down the years at Old Trafford.
Yet as the errors have crept back in, especially in Europe, the reasons to keep Onana in the side – especially when there is a perfectly-able deputy in Altay Bayindir waiting in the wings – are running thin.
If it was not for Onana errors last season, United would have sailed through to the Champions League last-16 and claimed potentially galvanising results in Munich and Istanbul that could have started to bring about lasting change.
LYON WITH A LATE GOAL!
Andre Onana's save is spilled into a dangerous area and Rayan Cherki makes no mistake
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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 10, 2025
The European jitters have not gone away. Both Lyon goals were more than preventable as United, once more, let a mood-changing victory in France slip by.
A 2-2 draw nonetheless puts them in the driving seat to reach the Europa League last four ahead of next week’s second leg. Not for the first time in these turbulent times, however, the tie could easily have been put to bed.
“It can happen, if you play football, you play a lot of games, you can make mistakes,” Ruben Amorim said.
“If you look at the season, I make more mistakes than them during these last games and these last months.
“The best thing is to look at the goals, all the actions that Andre had in the game, this is the best way to help any player.”
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Onana’s effect on the team is proving more hindrance than help.
This was United’s D-Day. Not just to salvage something from their most miserable season in living memory, but for Amorim’s restoration project as a whole.
For the first time the United manager admitted to being aware of the sheer enormity of their trip to Lyon. Its importance was three-fold – winning a much-needed trophy, securing Champions League football for next season, and giving him upwards of £100m extra to spend of essential squad overhaul this summer.
Onana had stoked the fire pre-match with his rather surprising war of words with Nemanja Matic, suggesting United were “way better” than Lyon. The stage was set for another United disasterclass on European soil.
Joshua Zirkzee’s late header looked to have given United one of their more memorable nights in recent European endeavours, only for Rayan Cherki to break visiting hearts with the last kick off the game – aided by another Onana misstep.
Nearly 3,000 travelling United supporters almost missed it. An ill-timed technical fault closed down the city’s metro system ahead of kick-off, leaving roads gridlocked.
To make an already arduous journey that bit more excruciating, United supporters were required to head to another out-of-town venue to pick up wristbands and then were shoved onto a shuttle bus to the stadium.
Onana celebrates after believing Zirkzee had won it (Photo: Reuters)Many didn’t bother putting themselves through such a process, choosing to stay in Vieux Lyon’s stunning Place des Terreaux and take in the match from there.
Onana will have wished he could have done the same. All eyes were on the United stopper as the encounter got underway due to the public spat with Matic.
Every early touch was loudly booed by the vociferous home support inside the Groupama Stadium. It was just what a goalkeeper who almost single-handedly (or sometimes with both hands) cost United a spot in the Champions League last-16 last season did not need.
Sure enough, another mistake was only a moment in time away. Thiago Almada’s 25th minute free-kick had all the dip and swerve to panic any goalkeeper, but a limp two-handed attempt to push the ball away lacked any conviction whatsoever. Onana allowed the ball to squirm into the net.
Perhaps all too familiar with a Onana continental catastrophe, United did not let their heads drop, with Leny Yoro doing well to guide Manuel Ugarte’s strike into the net to level just before the break.
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Substitute Zirkzee was not passing up his well-deserved moment. The player booed by his own supporters five months ago guided Bruno Fernandes’ sumptuous cross into the net to spark wild scenes of celebration two minutes from time.
Onana dropped to the floor, thinking he had been redeemed, but the United stopper failed to properly deal with a Georges Mikautadze strike in the 95th minute and Cherki pounced to secure Lyon a vital draw.
Eight times Onana has now made an error leading to a goal in all competitions – more than any other Premier League goalkeeper.
Coming back from such a damning stat is tough enough, but when you have chosen to take the verbal attack to an opponent ahead of such a pivotal encounter, actions simply must speak louder than words.
United and Amorim don’t have any room for manoeuvre. Winning the Europa League is a must. It is non-negotiable. Their goalkeeper is making that task more challenging that in needs to be.
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