Manchester United’s Andre Onana has just had a forgettable start to his AFCON tournament with Cameroon.
Joining the team after controversially missing the first game due to club commitments, he was drafted straight into the first team against Senegal.
On his first start in the tournament, Onana began with an error as he punched an aerial ball meekly, straight into the path of a Senegal player.
The player took a touch and passed it to Ismaila Sarr, who confidently slotted it past Onana as he remained rooted to his spot.
Ismaila Sarr beats Onana to put the defending champions ahead 💪
Senegal LEAD Cameroon 1-0 âš½ pic.twitter.com/TQQVqumnC3
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 19, 2024
Cameroon were down by a goal in just 16 minutes and in many ways, that error was just a culmination of a less-than-ideal start for the goalkeeper.
Within the first three minutes, he had already misplaced a simple pass and hit it out of play, before going on to scream at his defender for not reaching it.
He looked nervy all around, especially on set-pieces, a statement United fans are becoming all too familiar with.
Senegal sensed this weakness and repeatedly hit crosses aerially close to him and crowded the six-yard box.
Although his command of the box improved for subsequent crosses, as he managed to punch away a few, a lingering doubt remained in his game.
With Cameroon already having dropped points in their first game at AFCON, the stakes are high for the team and Onana.
Costly errors are the last thing his team needs, especially from the first-choice goalkeeper already facing intense scrutiny.
As they say, begin as you mean to go on, but for Onana, he would hope that it’s not the case for his AFCON start.
