‘Never’ – Onana backed as Man Utd icons Van der Sar, De Gea would have made same decision for goal
Patrice Evra has backed Andre Onana as he admitted Edwin van der Sar and David de Gea “never would have” come for a ball that led to Manchester United conceding against Aston Villa.
The Red Devils broke a four-game losing streak in all competitions last time out against Villa. While a thrilling second-half from United saw them bring the game back to win 3-2, things didn’t start too well.
The Villans netted twice within the opening half an hour, the first coming from a John McGinn header, after a cross that Onana did not come and claim.
The goalkeeper has been blamed for United conceding on a number of occasions this season, but former Red Devil Evra does not feel Onana was at fault this time, as former elite United stoppers Van der Sar and De Gea would have made the same choice as him.
“It depends on the style of the goalkeeper. If you had Thibaut Courtois, he would have come to that ball [to stop Aston Villa’s first goal],” Evra said on Amazon Prime.
“I played with Edwin van der Sar, I played with David de Gea. They never would have come out like that.
“People can point and say it’s a goalkeeper error. But I think it’s just the type of goalkeeper.”
That said, Onana has not covered himself in glory since his move to Old Trafford in the summer. He recently admitted he is “not happy” with how things have gone so far.
He also said that he hoped “things will change as soon as possible.”
A 3-2 win over third-placed Aston Villa represents a big step in the right direction, and the manner of the win, after going 2-0 down, showed grit and determination that has been hard to find at United recently.
They’ll hope that remains going forwards, with the club looking to better their current position of sixth.
They finished third last season, and doing so again seems unlikely given the quality of some sides above them, but performances such as the one against Villa show it’s possible if they keep that form up.
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