Right before half-time in last weekend’s match with Crystal Palace, Andre Onana performed an outstanding save against Jean-Philippe Mateta. Unfortunately, the referee missed seeing Onana’s fingertips on the ball and mistakenly signaled for a goal-kick instead of giving a corner to the visiting side. Onana celebrated his save as though he had scored a goal, signaling quite clearly that he had managed to deflect the ball. While Mateta may have been bested in that encounter with Onana, overall, the Crystal Palace striker ultimately triumphed. Mateta propelled his team to a 2-0 win at Old Trafford, and Onana’s first-half save turned out to be unnecessary. Fans present at Old Trafford on Sunday will recall Onana’s critical save against Mateta in the 40th minute, which sparked a passionate celebration from the scorer. A goalkeeper celebrating with such enthusiasm is uncommon, and it seems significant that he wanted to emphasize his positive impact. If Onana’s performance hadn’t declined recently, would he have celebrated the save in the same way? Likely not. It’s likely that Onana would have stayed focused and not drawn the referee’s attention, who incorrectly missed the fact that it was a corner for Palace. With United struggling through a tough season and Onana’s performance declining, it’s understandable that he celebrated a save that many spectators were oblivious to. Alan Shearer famously said, “Pressure is for tyres,” during England’s penalty victory over Switzerland at Euro 2024. Remarkably, the players from England kept their composure during the penalty shootout, yet pressure can have a tricky effect on one’s mindset, and Onana is certainly feeling the strain. After his transfer from Inter Milan, Onana made several mistakes, leading fans to doubt if he truly was a better option than David de Gea. His errors in the Champions League led to United finishing last in their group, and he has candidly discussed the challenges of those initial six months. United may require a new goalkeeper, as Onana struggled and appeared not suited for the position. However, he had a largely steady year in 2024, suggesting that he had eliminated the mistakes from his play. He was recognized with the Premier League’s save of the month award for his remarkable double save against Crystal Palace in September and managed to surpass that feat in October against Fenerbahce. The Cameroon international thwarted Youssef En-Nesyri twice in quick succession as Fenerbahce sought to level the score in the Europa League. He dropped to his left before quickly getting back up to make another save, which Jose Mourinho called “incredible.” The Manchester Evening News was asked to suggest a few Manchester United players for a national Player of 2024 poll, and Onana was included among the nominees. Things took a turn for the worse for Onana when United suffered a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in December.
