Europe's most unreliable keeper - the numbers behind André Onana's terrible start at Man Utd

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Manchester United’s Champions League campaign hit a new low on Wednesday night, when Erik ten Hag’s side not only dropped two points but did so after taking a 3-1 lead against hosts Galatasaray. Goals from Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay should have confirmed only a second victory from their last 10 away ties in the European competition, but not for the first time this season, mistakes from goalkeeper André Onana undermined what had looks like a solid performance from the Old Trafford side. 

Market Value

A. Onana Goalkeeper

€40.00m

Indeed, Onana’s first fault came in the 28th minute, when a free-kick on the edge of the box from Hakim Ziyech seemingly bamboozled the 27-year-old shot-stopper as he found himself at the wrong end of his goal. The on-loan Chelsea winger poured salt on the wounds in the second half, when a seemingly straightforward cross into the box once again caught the Man Utd keeper by surprise and bounced into the back of the net, just 10 minutes before Kerem Aktürkoğlu equalised with an exquisite shot. 

After joining the club in the summer for no less than €52.5 million, many fans of the Manchester club hoped that Onana would be an ample replacement for the error-prone David de Gea. Ahead of a tricky Premier League clash away to Newcastle on Saturday, many fans will be wondering if the Cameroon international has instead inherited the curse placed upon his Spanish predecessor and in many ways is proving to be an even bigger liability between the posts for Ten Hag’s side. 

How bad has André Onana been for Man Utd this season?

While nothing can be as damning as the goals Onana conceded on the night, there is mounting proof that these mistakes aren’t simply one-off moments of misfortune for the player. According to Opta, the shot-stopper has made more errors leading to goals than any other goalkeeper in the Champions League since 2018/19. And when we take a look at his passing stats for this season alone we can see where the issues arise. For example, Onana has so far misplaced 41 short passes for Man Utd this season. When we compare that to every goalkeeper that has played in Europe’s top five leagues, as well as the Champions League, that puts the Cameroon international second. What’s just as concerning is the fact that the Man Utd star currently sits third among his peers for unsuccessful passes in his own half and 15th for unsuccessful long passes and launches of the ball up the pitch. Which goes some way to explaining why Onana is perhaps not the safe pair of hands that the Old Trafford club thought they were signing in the summer. 

Has André Onana always been so error-prone? 

Of course, Man Utd aren’t exactly famous for getting the best out of star players and have seen a number of big signings flop since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager in 2013. So it would only make sense to check and see whether Onana was as error-prone as he is now when he was at his previous club Inter Milan or Ajax. Only then can we deduce whether the shot-stopper is simply the latest in a long line of talented individuals to flop at Old Trafford or is instead having mistakes that have always been part of his game highlighted by the bright lights of the Premier League. Unfortunately for the player, when we look at the numbers it would seem as though the latter seems to be the case. 

For example, Onana has been one of the worst culprits in European football for misplaced passes in his own half this season. But what’s perhaps most concerning is the fact that his average for this season (2.28 misplaced passes per 90 minutes), is only slightly higher than his average at Inter last season (1.92) and as we can see in the graph above that doesn’t deviate a huge amount from his time at Ajax. Similarly, while his average misplaced short passes for this season (0.50) is certainly higher than last season’s (0.27), his average of 0.31 per 90 in the 20/21 season suggests that it isn’t entirely out of the ordinary for the player. Even Onana’s nine misplaced passes per 90 for Man Utd this season are only one pass per game off his average for Inter last time around. Whether Onana will improve and go on to become a solid goalkeeper for Man Utd remains to be seen, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest that the mistakes he is making for Ten Hag’s side this season have always been a part of his game in one form or another.