Onana has been Man United’s fall guy, but why not Ten Hag?

Manchester United’s defense is indefensible and that’s directly down to the manager, rather than a goalkeeper who has almost single-handedly left the team on the brink of elimination in the Champions League.

Life is tough at the moment for Andre Onana, David de Gea’s £47.2 million summer replacement as United’s number one. Fundamental errors that led to two goals from Galatasaray’s Hakim Ziyech from direct free kicks in Wednesday’s 3-3 draw in Istanbul were just the latest to cost United dearly.

The Cameroon international’s penalty save from FC Copenhagen’s Jordan Larsson on matchday four, which gave United their only victory in Group A, was supposed to be a moment of redemption, after another performance riddled with ‘errors in the 4-3 away defeat. at Bayern Munich in the opening match. But Onana is now back at square one after his nightmare against Galatasaray.

– What every team needs to progress in the UCL

United manager Erik ten Hag defended his goalkeeper after the match, making the usual comments about a team “winning together and losing together”, but these were just empty words. If anything, the reason United have been so poor in the Champions League this season, and often in domestic matches too, is because they don’t play ‘together’ as a team.

Galatasaray’s opening goal was the perfect example of Ten Hag’s current team dysfunction. United had overloaded their players in attack, with Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay joining Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Rasmus Højlund in a raid on the Galatasaray penalty area. When the attack broke down, Fernandes sprinted from one end of the pitch to the other before fouling Mauro Icardi on the edge of the United penalty area, conceding a free kick from which Ziyech marked in front of the unfortunate Onana.

After giving away the free kick, Fernandes turned and shouted his displeasure at McTominay, who had failed to get back and left the defense exposed. If United had been more disciplined, the counter-attack could have been stifled and the free-kick would never have been conceded.

There are some ifs and buts, sure, but this passage of play has been common this season: United commit too many players forward, then opponents break quickly, attack space and take advantage. huge gaps at the back to create chances and score. That’s why United have conceded 14 goals in five Champions League matches – the same number as winless Celtic in Group E and slightly fewer than Antwerp, who have lost five of five in Group H.

It’s a remarkable achievement for United to score nine goals in three away matches – they are the top away scorers in the group stage – but they have failed to win any as they conceded 11 goals, again the highest total in history. any club.

Højlund is the competition’s top scorer this season, with five alongside Erling Haaland and Álvaro Morata, but his goals have all come in defeats. So while Onana finds himself under the microscope for his costly mistakes, the fault really lies with Ten Hag for failing to correct the recurring flaws that are so damaging to United’s prospects.

The former Ajax manager has changed personnel across the pitch and signed several big signings, but problems persist; This is either because the players aren’t good enough or because Ten Hag failed to train his team to defend as a unit. His job is to make United competitive, but he appears to have dusted off Marcelo Bielsa’s playbook on defending (or lack thereof) and that leaves his team wide open.

“They just can’t keep clean sheets,” former United midfielder Paul Scholes told TNT Sports after the Galatasaray match. “The defense is all over the place, the goalkeeper makes mistakes, Bruno gives away cheap free kicks. It was total madness from start to finish.

“It’s very difficult to win away games in Europe like that. They were always going at each other’s throats, always trying to score goals. That’s just not the way to win games in Europe .I’ve never seen teams go away from home. In Europe, throw everything at the teams and win the match. You lead 2-0, you lead 3-1, play your positions. Relax.

Scholes’ comments were echoed by Fernandes, the United captain, who admitted the team’s approach was not working. “I don’t want to be too negative, but what we did in the Champions League is not enough,” Fernandes said. “We have to control our games every time. This is not the first game we have played like this.”

United led at home to Galatasaray and lost, squandered a two-goal lead in Copenhagen before losing 4-3, then surrendered a two-goal advantage twice in Istanbul before drawing 3-3 .

Onana is joint-leader in the race for the Premier League Golden Glove this season, with five clean sheets along with Crystal Palace’s Sam Johnstone and Newcastle United’s Nick Pope. But this only masks the overall problems with Ten Hag’s tactics. They have had similar problems in failing to capitalize on their league winning positions this season, and also suffered heavy defeats under Ten Hag at Liverpool (7-0) and Manchester City (6-3) last campaign.

Rather than being a new problem, United’s inability to defend properly and consistently is one that has held back Ten Hag’s tenure. Other coaches are intensifying the focus on his shortcomings and proving that good tactics can make an average team difficult to beat.

FC Copenhagen earned a 0-0 draw against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena – a result that puts them in control of their Group A destiny – thanks to coach Jacob Neestrup hatching a tactical plan to stifle a team that scores freely. Ten Hag wasn’t able to do that at United against a top opponent, which is another reason why the blame can’t rest solely on Onana’s shoulders.

The goalkeeper had another poor night, but most goalkeepers would consider playing for this United side a thankless task due to Ten Hag’s inability to make them defend as a team.