Arguably, United outperformed Lyon, but the scoreboard did not reflect this, as a semi-final spot remained on the line. That was due to Onana's errors, which allowed Lyon to equalise in the 95th minute when he pushed Georges Mikautadze's shot right back out. Rayan Cherki followed up and tapped in. "The worst moment to concede a goal," stated Leny Yoro. There was no attempt to sugarcoat the situation; nor could there be. Ruben Amorim of Onana commented, "There is nothing I can say now to help him," but he did provide an endorsement. "I am really confident in Andre."
Amorim felt that the tie is "50-50," although home advantage may make them minor favourites to face Athletic Bilbao or Rangers in the semi-finals. However, when Joshua Zirkzee headed them into an 88th-minute lead, it promised so much more - one of Amorim's biggest results, salvation for their season in the form of silverware and Champions League qualification.
But Onana, the man who may have talked too much, managed to have the last word. In addition to being at fault for Thiago Almada's equaliser, he made another error late on. He was too unpredictable in Europe last season, resulting in United's elimination. History threatens to repeat itself.
Amorim felt that the tie is "50-50," although home advantage may make them minor favourites to face Athletic Bilbao or Rangers in the semi-finals. However, when Joshua Zirkzee headed them into an 88th-minute lead, it promised so much more - one of Amorim's biggest results, salvation for their season in the form of silverware and Champions League qualification.
But Onana, the man who may have talked too much, managed to have the last word. In addition to being at fault for Thiago Almada's equaliser, he made another error late on. He was too unpredictable in Europe last season, resulting in United's elimination. History threatens to repeat itself.
He can at least appreciate his teammates' resolve. United has had a year with many unpleasant statistics, as well as some more enviable ones. They are the only unbeaten team in the Europa League or Champions League this season. Given their domestic shape, they possessed a strange type of invincibility, which they expanded upon. Despite conceding first for the 24th occasion this season, they have again demonstrated their capacity to fight from behind in Europe.
But they had to. In his brief United career, Onana made the eighth blunder that resulted in a goal, followed by the ninth. One criticism is that they are too frequent, while another is that they are howlers. This was another.
His pre-match remarks were undiplomatic and inappropriate, and he was barracked and whistled. That was before he gave Lyon the lead after United conceded directly from Almada's crossed free kick. The presence of the jumping Moussa Niakhate, the huge center-back attempting to glance in a header, may have confused Onana. However, it was a poor attempt to block Almada's curling delivery.
The temptation is to claim he was intimidated. There was a deafening soundtrack when he was on the ball, but Onana has struggled in far less difficult surroundings, and Lyon denied there was a plan to put pressure on him. "It was not Nemanja Matic's strategy at all," remarked manager Paulo Fonseca.
But they had to. In his brief United career, Onana made the eighth blunder that resulted in a goal, followed by the ninth. One criticism is that they are too frequent, while another is that they are howlers. This was another.
His pre-match remarks were undiplomatic and inappropriate, and he was barracked and whistled. That was before he gave Lyon the lead after United conceded directly from Almada's crossed free kick. The presence of the jumping Moussa Niakhate, the huge center-back attempting to glance in a header, may have confused Onana. However, it was a poor attempt to block Almada's curling delivery.
The temptation is to claim he was intimidated. There was a deafening soundtrack when he was on the ball, but Onana has struggled in far less difficult surroundings, and Lyon denied there was a plan to put pressure on him. "It was not Nemanja Matic's strategy at all," remarked manager Paulo Fonseca.
Onana dominated attention before, during, and after the game, regardless of whether he was being economical with the truth. He proved the talking point. "If you play football and you play a lot of games, you can mistakes," Amorim pointed out. "If you look over the season, I've made more mistakes than them. A mistake made by one player affects the entire team. So we'll keep going like this.
As perplexing as his team's season has been, United can elicit a response on such occasions. As Amorim pointed out, a goal-shy squad can score in Europe. They did it again. Yoro moved quickly to glance in a header after Bruno Fernandes' free kick was knocked out by Lucas Perri, and Manuel Ugarte poked the ball back into the box. It was probably a shot, but Yoro converted it into an assist for his first United goal. A Frenchman struck in France, and Yoro threatened another with a 20-yard shot that went wide.
If a defense appeared to be a better finisher than an out-and-out striker, such as a sluggish Rasmus Hojlund, who squandered his finest chance and had a bad night, Amorim summoned a replacement in the form of Zirkzee. Fernandes assisted Zirkzee in scoring the second goal. The skipper was the greatest of the United attackers to start, but he was denied a goal when Niakhate diverted his attempt on the turn. In contrast, Alejandro Garnacho squandered a good chance by volleying at Perri.
Meanwhile, Lyon made a lot of noise from the stands and attacked with energy. Mikautadze was vivacious, and Almada contributed energy. Paulo Fonseca demonstrated his desire to win by putting on veteran striker Alexandre Lacazette, who could have scored with his first touch and later fired a shot over. Corentin Tolisso sidestepped into the box but fired at Onana.
Matic, another of Lyon's veteran players, may have had a greater influence if he hadn't played. Cherki followed Zirkzee's strike. When the dust settles, a draw is a more than acceptable outcome for United. But disappointment lingered. "The dressing room felt really quiet," Amorim added. Following the verbal confrontation, Onana felt injured on the pitch.
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