Andre Onana explains how Manchester United aim to kick on
LONDON — It's fair to say Andre Onana has had a topsy-turvy start to life at Manchester United after his $55 million arrival from Inter Milan this summer, but the Cameroonian goalkeeper is determined to make the 1-0 win at Fulham a launching pad for the rest of the season.
Coming off the back of two damaging 3-0 home defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle in the space of a few days in the Premier League and League Cup, Manchester United and Onana needed an improved defensive display in west London. They got it.
A banner in the away end urged United's players to fight and they worked hard and kept their discipline in an almighty slog of a game.
Playing out from the back was not the order of the day, according to Onana, as he and the two center halves in front of him (Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans) took no risks, played long when they needed to and were key in the win.
How much of an impact did Onana have?
Onana, 27, made two fine stops at a pivotal stage of the second half to keep the score locked at 0-0. He first denied a vicious dipping effort from Harry Wilson with a strong right hand and moments later Joao Palhinha was one-on-one with him but Onana stood tall to beat away the effort when most inside Craven Cottage were certain Manchester United would fall behind.
Asked by Pro Soccer Talk after the game about those two saves and how important they were, Onana turned the focus away from himself.
"Maybe, maybe it was an important. But today the most important thing is the victory," Onana smiled. "I will speak about the goal from Bruno [Fernandes] which was so important for us. The celebration says everything. I am very happy for the victory today and a great goal from Bruno."
Onana had 40 touches against Fulham, which is his third lowest tally in his eight Premier League games so far.
United's players understand the moment they are in right now and have gone back to basics as injuries and a lack of form for attacking players has impacted their confidence and decreased their margin for error. For a goalkeeper brought in specifically to play out from the back and is so good with his feet, Onana has put the teams' current situation above his own playing style.
What is the blueprint for United to rebuild confidence?
Moving forward, United have a huge Champions League game at Copenhagen on Wednesday before a winnable home game against Luton Town in the Premier League before the November international break arrives.
If they win those two games things will look a lot better and everything will calm down around Erik ten Hag and his future. For now.
Onana acknowledged the clean sheet at Fulham will give confidence to United's players and he also pointed to the fighting spirit and togetherness United showed in a very tough moment.
"A lot of confidence," Onana said on the clean sheet. "Sometimes you can keep a clean sheet but you don't win a game and you draw. For us today it was important to win. We came here to win. It doesn't matter if we concede a goal it was important to win. I am happy for this victory and the clean sheet showed how my team was working. The clean sheet is the way we defend together. The way we suffer together. I'm very happy with how we fought."
With six one-goal wins in the Premier League this season, Manchester United are showing they can grind out victories and the 1-0 win at Fulham was a blueprint for how Ten Hag will try to rebuild confidence while winning games. Onana is certainly up for the pressure of playing for Manchester United.
"You have to be prepared to play for Manchester United. It is the price to pay when you're playing for such a big club," Onana said. "If you don't win, everyone is upset. That is normal. We are Manchester United. We have to try and win everything. For me it is good. It means you are used to winning. We have to do everything to win even if we are not in a good situation. Manchester United is one of the biggest clubs in the world, so they always have to try to win."
"Sometimes you can lose but you have to fight for every game. Sometimes we make mistakes. This is part of life. At this club we will always fight. We try to do our best, we will go for everything. We showed a lot of character. I'm happy for the willingness and togetherness."
