Erik ten Hag has revealed Manchester United’s Summer Signing Andre Onana Ranks Second Among Premier League Goalkeepers as United Boss Continues to Support the Ghanaian Player.
The former Inter Milan player had been showing consistency with solid performances lately following a turbulent start to the season.
However, things took a turn when he made two significant errors during the Wednesday night Champions League match against Galatasaray.
Manchester United had secured a two-goal lead in Istanbul, but the tables turned when Hakim Ziyech‘s relatively tame free-kick went straight down the middle of the goal, catching Onana off-guard after he had initially moved to his left.
The visitors went 3-1 up in the second half only to be undone by their goalkeeper again, with another Ziyech free-kick creeping in after squirming under the body of Onana,
while United legend Paul Scholes also felt Gala’s leveller was the result of some poor positioning.
Ten Hag refused to point the finger at the 27-year-old afterwards, however, instead praising Ziyech’s ‘extraordinary’ dead-ball skills.
That theme continued at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Newcastle on Saturday night, with Ten Hag claiming his goalkeeper has played ‘particularly well’ and is the second-best goalkeeper in the Premier League.
Read Also: Galatasaray vs Man United 3-3 Video Highlights (Download)
Asked if the media and fans are analysing Onana too much, Ten Hag smiled and replied:
‘If you analyse it well then you see he is the second-best goalkeeper in the Premier League based on stats.
‘So his Expected Prevented Goals is the second-best in the Premier League.
‘So yeah he’s doing well. But also, he knows that in the Champions League he has made some mistakes.
‘But overall, if you see the first five months, he is doing particularly well.’
Asked how Onana’s confidence is doing after the mistakes, Ten Hag replied:
‘You know also, because you have seen how he is reacting to a bad performance, like he did after Munich. Against Burnley after, he was outstanding.
‘So he’s a strong character, he’s a personality, and he will deal with it.’
Manchester United‘s Champions League fate relies on beating Bayern Munich, the group leaders, and hoping for a draw between Galatasaray and Copenhagen.
