Man Utd keeper Onana takes responsibility for defeat at Bayern

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana said he was to blame for his team's Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The German side struck twice in four minutes in the first half at the Allianz Arena to set them on their way to a 4-3 victory in their Group A opener.

A mistake by Cameroon international Onana saw the Bundesliga side take the lead when he let winger Leroy Sane's tame shot slip past him and into the net.

“It's difficult to lose this way because I feel in the beginning, we started very well. After my mistake, we lost control of the game,” Onana told TNT Sports.

“It's a difficult situation and for me especially because I'm the one who let the team down. But the team was very good; I think it's because of me that they didn't win this game.

“We just have to move on. This is the life of the goalkeeper and, if we didn't win today, it is because of me.”

United manager Erik ten Hag said Onana, who moved to Old Trafford from Inter Milan in July, had the mindset to bounce back.

"(In) football on the whole, (there) will always be mistakes, and this is one mistake,” the Dutchman told reporters. “So, we also don't make it bigger than it is.

“He will bounce back, and he is a very important player.”

Meanwhile, former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he sympathises with incumbent Ten Hag.

United have also lost three of their opening five Premier League games.

Solskjaer, who was sacked in November 2021 after a run of poor results, said managing the Old Trafford club is especially challenging given that comparisons are automatically made with Alex Ferguson's trophy-laden reign.

“I know what he's going through. It's a dream job, but it's difficult,” Solskjaer said in an interview with The Athletic.

“You're dealing with humans with all their problems and backgrounds — this isn't a computer simulation. But most (players) are good professionals who want to do well. Some think about number one first, most think of the club.”

Solskjaer said United now struggle to sign the kind of players that once would have needed little persuasion to join, saying the club have missed out on key targets such as Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Declan Rice.

“The expectations are very high but we can't live in the same era as when I played,” the Norwegian said.

“We had Arsenal and Chelsea as rivals towards the end. Now, most teams have money or even if they don't, they don't need to sell.

“Back then, Wayne (Rooney) and Cristiano (Ronaldo) were the best young players and we signed them. Now, United can't just go and buy Evan Ferguson.

“We couldn't buy the players I mentioned to the club. We wanted Jude Bellingham badly — he's a Man United (type of) player, but I respect he chose Dortmund. That was probably sensible.

“I would have signed Kane every day of the week and my understanding was that he wanted to come. But the club didn't have the budget with the financial constraints from Covid-19, there was no bottomless pit.”

Ronaldo's return to United in August 2021 failed to live up to expectations with the Portuguese leaving in acrimonious circumstances a little over a year later.

“It was a decision that was very difficult to turn down and I felt we had to take it, but it turned out wrong,” Solskjaer said.

“It felt so right when he signed and the fans felt that at that Newcastle game when Old Trafford was rocking (after Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-1 win).

“He was still one of the best goalscorers in the world, he was looking strong.” — Reuters