The keeper is under the spotlight after two costly errors against Lyon – but how does he compare with others who struggled at Old Trafford?
Andre Onana put huge pressure on himself before Manchester United's Europa League clash with Lyon and when the game began, he caved in to it. Onana had become one of the main characters ahead of the quarter-final first leg by first declaring that the Red Devils were "way better" than the Ligue 1 outfit a few days earlier.
Nemanja Matic responded to his comments in the most brutal manner by labelling him "one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history" but Onana did not need to rise to it. He could have let his performance do the talking. Instead he came back with a spiky response about winning trophies and was ridiculed for it. After all, Matic had won two Premier League titles with Chelsea.
But the most ridiculous thing was Onana's performance at the Groupama Stadium. He feebly let Thiago Almada's free-kick, which was intended as a cross, slip past him. Paul Scholes rightly labelled it "a terrible goalkeeping error" and everyone on social media was saying the same thing: Matic was right.
It was the eighth error leading to a goal made by the Cameroonian in all competitions, more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League since he joined United in 2023. But United responded well to the setback and looked to be on their way to a crucial victory thanks to headers from Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee. Lyon came back at them in the last minute though and Onana let United down again, pushing a central shot from Georges Mikautadze straight back into the danger zone and at the feet of the last person you would want it to fall to: Lyon talisman Rayan Cherki.
Now United must beat Lyon at Old Trafford next week to reach the Europa League semi-finals and keep their nightmare season alive, when a draw would have been enough had they been able to cling on. But the errors are likely to have bigger ramifications for United and Onana. How can the club continue with a goalkeeper who is so unreliable, who rival players are openly laughing about?
So after one of the lowest points of his already dismal United career, GOAL asks whether Matic is right and if Onana is indeed the worst goalkeeper United have had in the Premier League era….
Getty8Ben Foster
Foster was a long-term project of Sir Alex Ferguson's that ultimately did not work out. He was by no means a disaster compared to the other goalkeepers on this list, but he had the chance to become the club's first English No.1 in the Premier League era and could not take it.
Foster was back-up to Edwin van der Sar for two seasons and his highlight was winning the 2009 League Cup after a penalty shootout victory over Tottenham. An injury to the Dutch veteran at the start of the following campaign gave Foster a golden opportunity to prove he should be United's first-choice. However, costly errors against Arsenal, Manchester City, and Sunderland saw him removed from the starting XI as soon as Van der Sar returned to full fitness and by the end of the season he was gone.
AdvertisementGetty7Mark Bosnich
The Australian can claim to be the only player that Ferguson signed twice. He made two appearances for United in the pre-Premier League era before returning Down Under when his visa expired. After developing into one of the division's top goalkeepers with Aston Villa, Bosnich returned to United in 1999 following Schmeichel's departure.
Replacing the Great Dane was a daunting task for anyone, but Bosnich did not help his cause, according to Ferguson, who described him as "a terrible professional". Among his misdemeanours were turning up to training three hours late and overeating. After one match at Wimbledon, Ferguson claimed the goalkeeper ate everything on the menu before ordering a Chinese takeaway when he got home.
Still, Bosnich made the most appearances of United's three goalkeepers in that first post-Schmeichel season as the Red Devils romped to the Premier League title and won the Intercontinental Cup. He played no part in his second season, though, and left for Chelsea in January 2001. A year later he tested positive for cocaine.
Getty6Tim Howard
The American goalkeeper was unknown in England when he signed for United in 2003, and to tell the truth he never quite dealt with the pressure. There were some acrobatic saves in his first few months, but Howard's impressive start unravelled in the Champions League last-16 clash with Jose Mourinho's Porto. Howard spilled a late free-kick into the path of Costinha, who scored to send United out and spark the young Portuguese upstart coach's unforgettable knee slide celebration across the Old Trafford turf.
Howard's confidence never recovered and so began a battle for the No.1 spot between him and Roy Carroll over the next 14 months. Neither goalkeeper could truly convince Ferguson they were up to the task, and the ultimate winner was Van der Sar, who signed from Fulham in 2005 and remained first-choice until he retired six years later.
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Getty5Roy Carroll
The Northern Ireland 'keeper began life at United as Fabien Barthez's understudy and eventually graduated to No.1 in the 2004-05 campaign after finally winning the battle with Howard.
He was an ultimately unremarkable goalkeeper, though, and like his American rival for the jersey, cracked under pressure, above all in the Champions League last-16 defeat to AC Milan. He also couldn't save a single penalty in the shootout defeat to Arsenal in the 2005 FA Cup final.
Carroll's most high-profile mistake for United did not lead to a goal, however. That was when he spilled Pedro Mendes' looping shot from near halfway over his own line against Tottenham, but managed to scramble the ball away without the referee or his assistant noticing. The officials' error could not save Carroll's United career, however, and he was released in May 2005.