In a dramatic Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday night, Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw by Lyon, but the spotlight fell squarely on goalkeeper André Onana, whose pair of high-profile errors handed the French side a lifeline. Despite the costly mistakes, United manager Ruben Amorim came to his goalkeeper’s defense, urging focus and resilience ahead of the decisive second leg at Old Trafford.
Onana, already under scrutiny after a pre-match spat with former United midfielder Nemanja Matic, who labeled him “one of the worst” goalkeepers in the club’s history, endured a torrid evening at the Groupama Stadium. Greeted with boos every time he touched the ball, the Cameroonian international failed to deal with Thiago Almada’s tame free kick, which squirmed past him to give Lyon the lead.
United responded with character as 19-year-old Leny Yoro and striker Joshua Zirkzee turned the game around with goals that briefly tilted momentum in the Premier League side’s favour. However, just as victory seemed within reach, Onana’s second lapse of concentration allowed Rayan Cherki to fire home the equaliser with the final kick of the match, denying United a precious away win.
“It can happen,” Amorim said in his post-match press conference. “If you play football, and we play a lot of games, you can make mistakes. There is nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help.”
Amorim acknowledged the deflation among his players after conceding late but urged them to regroup with the season hanging in the balance.
“I felt the dressing room was really quiet, and that is a good thing,” he said. “We draw away in Europe; that is always hard. The team is suffering, and we need to change that.”
Manchester United remains unbeaten in European competition this season, but with Champions League qualification only possible through Europa League success, next week’s return leg has taken on immense importance, both in footballing and financial terms.
“It’s 50-50,” Amorim admitted. “It’s a really difficult match, but when we play at home with our fans, we play with one more player.”
Lyon’s teenage center-back Leny Yoro, who opened his account with his first goal for the club, remains optimistic that United can finish the job at home.
“Matches like these, away from home, if we win, it puts us in a really good position,” said Yoro. “Unfortunately, we conceded that goal at the end, so we come away with a draw and will do everything to win the second leg.”
But Lyon’s Rayan Cherki issued a warning to the English giants, insisting the French outfit were the better side on the night.
“We deserved a lot better,” said the attacking midfielder. “We were better and from the start we felt the fear in them. Now we’re just waiting for one thing — to go over there and win. When they set up against us with two defensive midfielders, that means they’re afraid of us.”
With tensions high and everything to play for, all eyes now turn to Old Trafford, where one team’s European dream will come to an end.
