Revolutionizing Man Utd: How Andre Onana Transformed the Club's Goalkeeping Dynamics
Is Andre Onana's arrival at Man Utd an upgrade over David De Gea? Explore the impact of Onana's passing ability and Ten Hag's evolving playing style on the team's shot-stopping and handling Unveil the teething issues faced in this transition
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An untidy penalty shout occurred at Wolves, followed by a howler at Bayern and a catastrophic pass that led to Casemiro being sent off against Galatasaray. This preceded falling to the ground early as Mauro Icardi scored the late winner. Andre Onana is now facing criticism.
Numerous fingers have been pointed in various directions as Manchester United has experienced their worst start to a league campaign in 34 years. Additionally, they have suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in their history in the Champions League.
Harry Maguire continues to face a challenging period as he awaits a consistent run of appearances for his club's first team. This is further compounded by the Glazers' decision to put the club up for sale 10 months ago, which still remains an unresolved situation. Additionally, Erik ten Hag has experienced a falling out with Jadon Sancho, Antony was granted a leave of absence last month to address allegations of abuse against him, and doubts have arisen concerning the performances of Mason Mount, Casemiro, and Marcus Rashford, as well as the entire defense.
Indeed, Ten Hag himself is coming under growing scrutiny after overseeing a £410.9m splurge on signings since taking the helm.
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Onana, who was brought in as a replacement for the longstanding No. 1 goalkeeper David De Gea during the summer, admitted that his initial performances in Manchester have been subpar. This acknowledgment followed a recent incident where he allowed Leroy Sane's weak shot to slip past him. Given this, it begs the question: has Onana been a significant factor in United's underwhelming start? Furthermore, have his highly lauded passing skills managed to overshadow his errors thus far? Did United make a mistake by considering the possibility of letting De Gea leave in the summer? Or is Onana simply becoming another convenient target for blame in the midst of their disastrous beginning to the season?
Passing and style
Comparing the touch maps of De Gea from last season's first seven league games and Onana from this season's games, it is evident that Onana demonstrates greater mobility. Additionally, Onana has impressively made two touches in the opposition half.
Maguire's exile formed part of a comparable process, wherein Ten Hag sought to utilize defenders skilled in playing the ball, at ease with executing short passes even under pressure. The graphic below vividly illustrates the progress United has made in this regard during the current season - demonstrating a marked improvement in retaining possession following a goal-kick.
In addition to maintaining possession, Ten Hag has implemented a strategy of pushing his team higher up the field and regaining possession in advanced positions, with the intention of putting pressure on their opponents. This approach is similar to the playing style employed by Manchester City, Liverpool, and Newcastle, and marks a departure from the counterattacking style associated with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The infographic below depicts the average starting distance of Manchester United's open-play passing sequences in the Premier League over Ten Hag's tenure, revealing a steady increase in the team's recovery of possession further up the field on a monthly basis.
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Indeed, Ten Hag's side currently register a league-topping 44.99m from their own goal line when starting open-play passing sequences - ahead of Newcastle and Manchester City.
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However, venturing too far forward exposes defenders to potential counter attacks in instances where the counter-press fails or the defensive line is breached. Moreover, initiating play from the defensive end carries the risk of mishaps.
Shot-stopping and handling
Onana has had some notable blunders in the Champions League while playing for United. These include letting in a weak shot from Sane against Bayern and starting a disastrous chain of events with his inaccurate pass against Galatasaray, which led to Casemiro getting sent off. Furthermore, he was easily beaten with a lob when being confronted one-on-one with Icardi.Some of those mishaps have contributed to Onana registering the fourth-worst xG differential in the competition to date - having shipped 1.23 goals more than expected.
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However, the situation in the Premier League appears to be more positive. Onana's performance in terms of preventing goals and save percentage places him within a group of goalkeepers in the middle range of the top-flight, which can be seen as a reflection of United's position in the league table.
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A quick look at United's past and present goalkeepers indicates that Onana has encountered a higher than average number of shots aimed low in the far corners of the goal - already dealing with 23 such shots in nine games in the Premier League and Champions League. De Gea, on the other hand, faced less than twice that number in 38 league games last season.
The radar comparison below includes Onana's performances in the Premier League and Champions League this season. It reveals that he has been more heavily involved compared to De Gea at United last season. However, Onana has conceded a greater number of goals from inside his box. This could be attributed to a combination of subpar defending and precise finishing.
When comparing the Premier League statistics of De Gea and Onana since last season, there are noticeable differences. Onana has conceded more goals and kept fewer clean sheets per game, but he has saved more shots and completed more passes. Interestingly, on average, Onana has only completed seven passes more per 90 minutes.
The key thing here is both keepers register on par for preventing goals, meaning both shipped as many goals as expected - based on the quality of chances they faced.
Ten Hag's roadmap is in progress, but his evolving style seems to be creating more opportunities for opponents. To achieve consistent results, his team must eliminate mistakes, improve their defensive performance, and effectively execute the plan. However, these initial challenges are hindering their progress.
However, the Dutchman needs positive results fast, with bookies pitting him as the second-favourite Premier League manager to face the axe next, after Paul Heckingbottom.
