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Andre Onana is chipped from centre circle on his Old Trafford debut against Lens

Home> Football> Football News> Man Utd

Updated 13:50 5 Aug 2023 GMT+1Published 13:21 5 Aug 2023 GMT+1

Andre Onana is chipped from centre circle on his Old Trafford debut against Lens

Lens forward Florian Sotoca put the French side ahead with an incredible goal against Man Utd.

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare

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On his Old Trafford debut, Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana was beaten from 40 yards in a pre-season clash against Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens.

The 27-year-old former Cameroon international, who joined the Premier League side from Inter Milan last month for a reported £47.2 million, impressed in large spells throughout United's pre-season tour of America.

But he was caught off guard in the 23rd minute of Saturday's game, when the French side took a shock 1-0 lead through Florian Sotoca.

As you can see in the footage below, United full-back Diogo Dalot gave away possession with a sloppy pass before former Montpellier striker Sotoca capitalised with a first-time shot.

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You've got to give Sotoca credit for putting his side ahead with such an audacious effort from range, but some have raised questions over Onana's positioning.

Here's how social media reacted to the goal.

One fan said: "This isn’t Onana’s fault really, he’s positioned where he should be for where Utd had the ball. But remembering the slander Ramsdale got for a similar goal against Sporting, it’ll be amusing to watch certain people change their tune how it’s their GK."

A second wrote: "Prats will blame Onana for that goal. It's Dalot's pass. Any keeper who is a sweeper keeper is in big danger of getting beaten in that scenario," while a third commented: "People are gonna blame Onana for that like he should expect his defence to misplace a 3yd pass."

A fourth said: "United fans were gassing up Onana for half the season only for him to get chipped from the halfway line on his Old Trafford debut I'm crying."

A fifth added: "This goal gives Onana a gentle warning for his positioning."

Manchester United moved quickly to replace goalkeeper David De Gea this summer after the Spaniard failed to agree terms on a new contract.

The 32-year-old goalkeeper, who recorded a record-breaking 190 clean sheets in 545 appearances during a 12-year spell at Old Trafford, said it was the "right time to undertake a new challenge" following his exit.

But many were still unhappy with the way his departure was handled, including Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster, who also sent a warning to Andre Onana about getting "caught out".

"Onana is a very confident player, I've seen him doing Cruyff turns and this kind of stuff," he told The United Stand. "But it will only take one or two for him to get caught out.

"Then it makes you start thinking maybe you shouldn't do that. Hopefully he hits the ground running but it's not as easy as that sometimes.”

Image credit: Getty
Image credit: Getty

Foster did, however, praise Onana's technical abilities, although he raised questions over whether the United backline will be able to handle such an intense playing-style.

"He's obviously a very, very modern goalkeeper and that's what it is nowadays," he added. "If Manchester United wanted to improve and progress, they had to sign Onana. That's the way that it goes and it's as simple as that.

"Whether or not the players around him are ready for that and be able to deal with constantly playing out from the back and him stepping up, acting like a real sweeper-keeper.

"I've seen the way he plays and he's super high up, comfortably comes running out with the ball. That remains to be seen [if his team-mates are ready for that]. It'll be an interesting one but I do think it's the right move, probably.”

Featured Image Credit: MUTV

Topics: Andre Onana, Ligue 1, Manchester United, Premier League, Fan Reactions

Jack Kenmare
Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is the Senior Journalist for SPORTbible, one of the world’s biggest social publishers. He specialises in long-form feature writing and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Football Manager wonderkids from 2005 to the present day. He has a BA (Hons) in Journalism and News Practice.

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@jackkenmare_

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