JAMIE CARRAGHER has claimed that if Andre Onana’s performance at Galatasaray had been by a young goalkeeper then they would never play again.
The Red Devils goalkeeper was caught out TWICE by Chelsea flop Hakim Ziyech in his side’s Champions League collapse to leave their hopes of qualification in tatters on Wednesday.
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Galatasaray twice came from two goals down to draw 3-3 with United.
The major talking point came when Ziyech’s whipped free-kick missed everyone in the box as the Moroccan’s cross looked to be an easy stop for the ex-Inter Milan stopper.
It went straight to Onana, but instead of collecting it, he bundled the ball into his own goal to make it 2-3.
Galatasaray’s first goal had come in similar fashion when Ziyech whipped the ball past Onana from a free-kick as it went around the wall and the keeper.
The Cameroon international, who apologised after an error in the first Champions League group stage defeat at Bayern Munich, and his United team-mates are now bottom of Group A.
The £47m summer signing from Inter has made a number of mistakes since arriving at Old Trafford.
And now Liverpool legend Carragher says that his latest gaffes were that bad that if a youth team goalie had made them then they would never play for the club again.
He wrote in his column for The Telegraph, he said: “Onana cost the team home and away against Galatasaray and was poor against Bayern Munich in the opening group game.
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“Yes, he made a last-minute penalty save against Copenhagen at Old Trafford, but the numerous minuses far outweigh that one positive.
“The performance in Turkey was unacceptable for a Manchester United goalkeeper. You would not expect an Under-18 keeper to make the basic handling error for Galatasaray’s second goal.
“If a youth keeper was promoted and played like Onana on Wednesday evening, he would probably never feature for the first team again.
“Onana has cost United too many cheap goals. The hope that the worst was behind him after a poor start to his Old Trafford career has been blown out of the water and Wednesday was a huge step backwards.
“Onana has already developed a reputation for being a liability. That will take a long time to overcome and reverse.
“On a personal level, I feel sorry for him. The criticism is not intended to be cruel. It is a reflection of the standards expected at the top of the professional game.
“You cannot play for Manchester United and avoid this level of scrutiny, especially when the stakes are as high as they were in Istanbul. Huge fixtures are settled by small margins.”
Carragher then added: “Ten Hag must be concerned moving forward.
“No manager understood the importance of a reliable goalkeeper more than Sir Alex Ferguson. Ten Hag might ask himself, ‘What would Fergie do?’ and there is plenty of material to guide him.
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“From Jim Leighton through to Massimo Taibi, Mark Bosnich and Fabian Barthez, Ferguson was ruthless when he believed his keeper was costing games. It did not matter if he signed the number one, even for a decent fee. You either met the required level or you were out.”
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