Manchester United signed Andre Onana largely due to the fact he is one of the best ball playing goalkeepers on the planet. Pep Guardiola stated he had never seen anything like Onana in the Champions League final, and declared his Manchester City team could not press him.
United showed signs of utilising Onana in that way at the start of the season. This was when Lisandro Martinez or Luke Shaw were in the side. Since then, United have seemingly began to instruct Andre Onana to go long when United have the ball.
I took a look at the data to see if this was really the case.
Are United Instructing Onana Long?
United have played 6 games with either Lisandro Martinez or Luke Shaw in the side this season, and seven without. The difference is noticeable in the games when neither defender plays.
While Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane are more than capable on the ball, it’s that ability to play on the half turn under pressure that United are missing. Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw have got this in abundance.
The constant chopping and changing of the defence doesn’t help either, and Erik ten Hag spoke about this recently. The Dutch manager stated it was hard to build patterns when you have to change the defence every single game due to injury.
Let’s take a look at the data for United with and without Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez.
| With | Without |
| Wolves: 14 Long Balls Attempted | Burnley: 22 Long Balls Attempted |
| Spurs: 10 Long Balls Attempted | Crystal Palace: 4 Long Balls Attempted |
| Forest: 5 Long Balls Attempted | Crystal Palace: 5 Long Balls Attempted |
| Arsenal: 13 Long Balls Attempted | Galatasaray: 25 Long Balls Attempted |
| Brighton: 13 Long Balls Attempted | Brentford: 15 Long Balls Attempted |
| Bayern: 8 Long Balls Attempted | Sheff United: 10 Long Balls Attempted |
| 63 In Total | Copenhagen: 17 Long Balls Attempted: 98 In Total |
| 10.5 Average Per Game | 14 Average Per Game |
It seems to be a clear instruction from Erik ten Hag for Andre Onana to go long. The facts and statistics support that belief, and it’s also quite clear to see on screen that they are the instructions for the player.
Manchester United have to transition to suit Andre Onana’s proactive style. It will take time and requires the right personnel to build patterns on a regular basis. United haven’t had that due to injuries. Erik ten Hag has had to sacrifice that belief, even though United don’t have particularly good target men in the air.
It’s the lesser of two evils for the manager. The expectation is United will revert to using Onana in possession a lot more when Lisandro Martinez returns, or a more steady back four is used without injury.
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