Andre Onana took the blame after the Manchester United goalkeeper made a mistake in their defeat to Bayern Munich.
Manchester United custodian Andre Onana apologised to the entire team after conceding the first goal in the Red Devils’ 4-3 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The £47.2million summer signing spilled Leroy Sane’s shot into his own net before allowing three more goals at the Allianz Arena, extending United’s poor start to the season.
Though many will have been impressed with the attitude that the Cameroon stopper showed in the aftermath of his error. Instead of sulking and ruminating on his error, Onana fronted up and took responsibility for his actions by requesting to speak with the media immediately after the match.
He apologised and took the blame for the defeat, while Fabrizio Romano has claimed that after Onana completed his requested interviews with several TV stations, he entered the dressing room and apologised to Erik ten Hag, the coaching staff and his fellow team-mates.
Onana appeared distraught on the pitch after Sane’s speculative shot spilled through his gloves and ended up in the back of the net, as the goalkeeper covered his face with his shirt on several occasions and spent a lengthy amount of time on the floor while Sane was celebrating his fortunate opening goal of the match.
Onana conceded again just minutes later, though there was little he could do to prevent the remaining three goals before fronting up to the TV cameras and apologising for his error – in a similar fashion to behind the scenes where he took the blame in conversation with his team-mates and United’s coaching staff.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Onana said: “It’s difficult to lose this way. In the beginning we started well and after my mistake, we lost control of the game. It’s a difficult situation for me especially because I’m the one who let the team down.
The team were good. Because of me, we didn’t win this game. I’m happy with the work of the team, we just have to move on. This is the life of the goalkeeper, if we didn’t win today it’s because of me.
“We were good on the ball, their first shot on target I made a mistake. The team went down because of that mistake. I have to learn from it and be strong. It’s not an easy situation but I’m happy for the comeback of the team, we were strong until the end. I have a lot to prove.
“To be honest, my start in Manchester is not how I want it. Playing how I played today… it’s one of my worst games. It’s difficult because we have big ambitions and this was a big opportunity for us to bounce back. It’s tough. We have to stick together and continue working hard and learn from our mistakes.”