Andre Onana was left humbled as his mistakes cost Manchester United in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
Onana made himself public enemy number one in Lyon after commenting earlier in the week that United were “way better” than their opponents.
Yet the United goalkeeper was at fault when Lyon took a 25th-minute lead through Thiago Almada’s free-kick, which floated over a crowd of players and evaded the hapless Onana.
And just when he thought his blushes had been spared by Leny Yoro – who equalised on the stroke of half-time – and then Joshua Zirkzee, who headed home what looked set to be an 88th-minute winner, Onana was at fault as Rayan Cherki equalised with virtually the last kick of the game.
8 – Since the start of last season, no goalkeeper has made more errors leading to goals for Premier League clubs in all competitions than Manchester United’s André Onana (8). Exhibit. pic.twitter.com/G8vq2HMzes
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 10, 2025
United head coach Ruben Amorim will have been pleased by the desire his team showed to restore parity following Onana’s first mistake, with Yoro reacting sharply to head in his first goal for the club when he connected with Manuel Ugarte’s wayward volley.
But Lyon saw great chances go begging through Alexander Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso, with United mainly limited to counter-attacks in the second half.
Not that the visitors cared one bit when one of those breaks saw Zirkzee head home from Bruno Fernandes’ pinpoint cross.
There was to be a final twist for the ill-fated Onana, though, as he could only parry Georges Mikautadze’s close-range attempt out to Cherki, who duly scooped in a deft finish to ensure the tie heads to Old Trafford on level terms.
Data Debrief: Onana’s miserable day out
Onana might well be wishing he had kept his mouth shut in the build-up to this match, with his comments having led to Nemanja Matic labelling the Cameroonian as United’s worst ever goalkeeper.
And while that may be harsh, Onana certainly did himself no favours. His first mistake meant he has now made eight errors leading to goals since the start of last season, which is more than any other Premier League goalkeeper in all competitions.
It would have been difficult to label United’s performance as “smash and grab” should they have won it – they only had three fewer shots than Lyon and registered 1.22 expected goals to their hosts’ 1.52 – but the French team will believe they were worthy of at least a draw.
The fact that Onana then gifted it to Cherki on a plate in the dying embers will only make it sweeter.
That being said, Lyon are now without a competitive win against United in five attempts. They have only faced Barcelona more often without tasting victory (P8 D3 L5).
