Oh Nah Nah.. That's a Goal.. Onana's Trepidation Plus UCL Group Stage Matchday 2 Results
What's up Oh-NAh-NAh?
Newly signed Manchester United keeper Andre Onana is already having a hellish time at the club. His poor performance saw Man United get their asses handed to them in a UCL Group Stage match against Galatasaray. Here’s all his awe plus UCL Group Stage Matchday 2 results for the games played thus far. Let’s, however, first get in tune with Rihanna’s ‘What’s My Name’ featuring Drake.
Terrible Onana Helps Man United Get Their Behinds Handed to Them by Galatasaray
As if in a case of ‘good goalkeeper gone bad’ (thanks Riri ;), Man United’s recent signing Andre Onana made important mistakes that denied United a win against Galatasaray. As if he’d just lost his senses, Onana pulled the plug on actually doing his job, allowing Galatasaray to pull off what was a stunning comeback. To make matters even worse, all this was unfolding in a home UCL match at Old Trafford.
Side Note:
Old Trafford is actually old, not only in age but also in feel. Old Trafford was officially opened on February 19th, 1910, and is a whopping 113 years old. What gets to me, however, is that despite the legacy, the stadium is continually feeling old in the sense that it lacks modern facilities for a world-class club that deserves the very best when it comes to facilities. Yes, as a Man Utd fan, I am biased but I think the boys deserve a LOT BETTER. My take is to have Old Trafford demolished and rebuilt afresh. Whether it would retain the name then is a matter for the club’s management to deal with. What do you think?
Onana did what was, sorry to say, stupid by passing the ball to Galatasaray’s Dries Mertens in the 75th minute, prompting a reaction from Casemiro that saw him get red carded and Galatasaray awarded a penalty. Mauro Icardi didn’t convert the penalty, however, but came back to strike later and take the lead away from United.
Hojlund Denied Moment of Glory After Scoring a Brace
Perhaps the most hurt by Onana’s antics, Rasmus Hojlund had opened the scoring for United in the 17th minute, denied a second goal due to offside, but then came on to score his second in the 67th minute. By then, Onana had already been scored one, by United’s old boy Wilfried Zaha who now plays for Galatasaray after his contract with Crystal Palace elapsed. Zaha went in and put in a fantastic dribble-in goal in the 23rd minute.
O Na Na, Mauro Icardi Capitalizes on Onana’s Mistakes
Things started unraveling for United when, now 2-1 ahead, Galatasaray’s Muhammed Kerem equalized in the 71st minute. Then Onana passed the ball to Mertens while aiming for Casemiro, leading to Casemiro giving away a penalty and getting a red card. His reaction to Mertens getting the ball beckons to a similar takedown by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer back when he was a United player.
The red means that Casemiro will miss Man Utd’s must-win game against Copenhagen. Icardi missed the penalty but then came on to make it 3-2 in favor of Galatasaray in the 81st minute. Icardi, who now has 11 goals in 11 games in all competitions, continued his fantastic performance and remains the top scorer in the Turkish league.
Why ten Hag? Whyy?
Despite the apparent misgivings, Erik ten Hag went on to show his support for Onana saying:
“I will encourage Onana, I will back him — I will support him”. “He’s great goalkeeper. He can be one of the best in the world”. “We have seen already Onana’s great capabilities and also his personality. He will bounce back, I’m sure”
(Source: Fabrizio Romano Twitter).
It seems that ten Hag is in some sort of delusion. No. Onana may not play well anytime soon and United, who now have zero points after two games in the Champions League group stage, may as well be kicked off the league if they do not win their next game against Copenhagen. Erik ten Hag needs to snap out of it and do what he was brought on to do: lead. The consequence of Onana’s poor performance, I think, is that he should be benched for a while and challenged to train more.
Champions League Group Stage Matchday 2 Results Thus Far
Arsenal Beaten by Lens as Real Madrid beat Napoli
Arsenal got handed their behinds on a plate, as Lens beat them 2-1. Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring for Arsenal in the 14th minute, with Lens’ Adrien Thomasson equalizing in the 25th minute and Elye Wahi netting in the winning goal in the 69th minute.
On their part, Real Madrid beat Napoli 3-2, with Vini Jr. scoring their first in the 27th minute and big man Bellingham scoring their second in the 34th minute. Leo Skiri scored for Napoli in the 19th minute and Piotr Zielinski equalized after he converted a penalty in the 54th minute. An Alex Meret own goal in the 78th minute handed Madrid the win.
Other UCL Group Stage Matchday 2 Results: Wins for Sociedad, Braga, Inter, PSV, and Bayern Munich
In other UCL Group Stage Matchday 2 results for the games played thus far, Real Sociedad beat RB Salzburg 2-0, thanks to goals by Mikel Oyarzabal in the 7th minute, and Brais Mendez in the 27th minute.
Braga beat Union Berlin 3-2, with Sikou Nikate scoring in the 41st minute, Bruma in the 51st minute, and Andre Castro in 90 + 4’. Sheraldo Becker scored a brace and both goals for Union Berlin, netting in his first in the 30th minute and the second 7 minutes later.
Inter beat Benfica 1-0, thanks to a 62nd-minute goal by Marcus Thurman.
PSV drew Sevilla 2-2, and Bayern beat Copenhagen 2-1. Lukas Lerager opened the scoring for Copenhagen in the 55th minute with Bayern’s Jamal Musiala equalizing in the 67th minute. Mathys Tel then went on to score the winning goal for Bayern in the 83rd minute.
