Siddharth Juyal
Robbie Savage asserted that Manchester United should have kept David De Gea instead of replacing him with Andre Onana
Robbie Savage believes that Manchester United would have been better off keeping David De Gea over new goalkeeper Andre Onana. Onana made two costly mistakes against Galatasaray in the must-win Champions League Group A game on Wednesday.
United secured a comfortable two-goal lead twice in the game only for Onana to concede twice from Hakim Ziyech’s freekicks. Onana misread the first free kick completely despite the shot lacking a significant amount of pace.
During the second half when United restored the two-goal advantage, Onana suffered another howler from Ziyech’s freekick. The 27-year-old knocked the ball into his net while making a clumsy attempt for the save.
United needed the victory to have a better chance of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages. However, the Red Devils are now fourth and on the verge of elimination from the European competitions for this season.
United need a victory against Bayern Munich in their last Group A fixture at Old Trafford. Furthermore, the game between FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray needs to be a draw for United to progress.
Speaking to Planet Sport Bet (h/t Manchester Evening News), Savage insisted United would have been better off keeping De Gea. He said:
“Onana is better at playing out from the back, he looks calm and composed doing that, but fundamentally in the big moments, would United have been better off keeping De Gea? I think so. De Gea was really good at keeping the ball out of the back of the net. In his last season he might have made a few mistakes, but he still won four Player of the Season awards at United and the Golden Glove last season!”
De Gea kept the most clean sheets in the Premier League last season as United conceded only 43 goals. The Red Devils have already conceded 33 goals in all competitions this season, showing immense fragility in the backline.
Onana has made five critical howlers already during this season, four of them coming during the Champions League. The Cameroon international made critical howlers in the games against Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and Brentford so far this season.
More Manchester United News-
- Report: Manchester United prepared to replace two summer signings including Sofyan Amrabat
- “It is not about individuals”- Erik ten Hag doesn’t blame Andre Onana after Manchester United’s draw against Galatasaray
- “I’m very pleased”- Erik ten Hag happy with Manchester United’s performance after draw vs Galatasaray
United have a rich history of legendary goalkeepers that played a key role in the club’s success over the years. Legendary keepers like De Gea, Edwin van der Saar, Peter Schmeichel fortified the Man United’s defence for the long periods.
