RUBEN AMORIM is considering taking Andre Onana out of the firing line for Sunday’s trip to Newcastle.
The Manchester United No1 had a difficult week after initially being involved in a war of words with former Red Devils midfielder Nemanja Matic.
Ruben Amorim could take Andre Onana out of the firing line for Sunday’s trip to Newcastle[/caption]
Amorim refused to rule out replacing Onana in the Premier League this weekend[/caption]
He then had a nightmare game in the Groupama Stadium – as he blundered for both of Lyon’s goals in the 2-2 draw.
Onana was understood to feel deflated after the match – although Amorim said he had not spoken to his keeper.
His team-mates rallied round him afterwards and echoed the manager’s claims that nobody is blaming the keeper.
Joshua Zirkzee – who scored United’s second goal in Lyon – was on the wrong end of a terrible ordeal at the hands of supporters against the Toon in January.
Asked about Onana, he said: “We’re one team – so we’re not going to take someone out for making mistakes. That’s ridiculous.”
Amorim was planning to make changes for the game at St James’ Park – making the second leg against Lyon his priority.
And one of those could be pulling Onana out and replacing him with understudy Altay Bayindir.
Asked if he would make changes for the trip to Tyneside, Amorim said: “Sometimes winning games is the best way of preparing for the next one.
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“But of course, I am going to be careful with some players but again we need to be competitive.
“We will make this evaluation with all the staff and all the data that we have.
“Then, because we know already the players, we will try to protect the ones that it will be hard to make a lot of games.”
But several United stars gave Matic – who said Onana was “one of the worst keepers in United’s history” before kick -off – a slew of gifts on Thursday night.
Meanwhile, United’s legendary former keeper Peter Schmeichel said: “There are so many issues for Ruben Amorim to sort out.
“I would be very uncomfortable pointing to one player but it’s not great to watch.
“You never feel safe because you always feel the other team are going to come back.”
Man Utd ratings vs Lyon as two Onana blunders earn under-fire keeper a ONE out of 10
MANCHESTER UNITED were left ruing calamity goalkeeper Andre Onana as two massive blunders saw them leave their Europa League quarter-final first leg with a 2-2 draw against Lyon.
The season-defining clash for both clubs became even spicier ahead of the game following a war words between Onana and ex-Red Devils star Nemanja Matic, with the Serbian dubbing the goalkeeper “one of the worst in United history”.
It certainly riled up the home side’s crowd, who made their voices known as Ruben Amorim named an unchanged team – for the first time since his arrival – from the Manchester derby.
But Onana was found wanting when he failed to save Thiago Almada’s inswinging free-kick to give the hosts the lead.
Leny Yoro nodded in an equaliser just before the interval after Manuel Ugarte‘s volley.
And Joshua Zirkzee looked to have won the game for the visitors with his late header converting a Fernandes cross.
But United’s joy was short-lived as Onana parried a shot straight to Rayan Cherki in added time, and the midfielder tapped in to leave the tie on a knife-edge.
Here’s how SunSport’s Tony Robertson rated the Red Devils in France…