Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim dropped Andre Onana for Sunday’s match at Newcastle to allow the goalkeeper to “disconnect” after a dramatic week.
Onana was at fault for both goals in United’s 2-2 draw at Lyon on Thursday in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.
The Cameroon international, who had made headlines in the build-up to the match when he described United as “way better” than the Ligue 1 outfit, has been left out of the squad for the St James’ Park clash, with Altay Bayindir drafted in.
🗣️ “He was ok because I explained.”
Ruben Amorim explains his decision to leave Andre Onana out of the Manchester United side ❌ pic.twitter.com/gagvzl9eSt
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 13, 2025
Asked about the decision, Amorim told Sky Sports: “Of course you have to see the context but it is a normal thing.
“Sometimes you have to push the player to play again, sometimes you have to let them disconnect a little bit, but (on Monday) he is going to be in training to prepare for the next one. I felt it was a good time for Andre to disconnect.
“I think he was OK because I explained and then you don’t need to like, but you understand because I explain every situation.
“So it was a normal situation. You have to manage everything and sometimes people just look at the physical aspect, but the mental aspect is really, really important.
“It is just one game. We will give an opportunity to Altar because he deserves it also and then (Monday) is a new life and we’ll prepare for the next one.”
Onana caused a stir after last Sunday’s stalemate against Manchester City at Old Trafford with his bullish claim about Lyon.
“Of course, it’s not going to be easy, but I think we are way better than them,” the 29-year-old said.
It did not go down well at Lyon and their former United midfielder Nemanja Matic described Onana as “one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United’s history” in response on Wednesday.
I would never be disrespectful to another club. We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent.
We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud.
At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same. pic.twitter.com/3easLRIz3d
— Andre Onana (@AndreyOnana) April 9, 2025
It prompted Onana to post on X that he never meant to be “disrespectful” to Lyon, but he did aim a dig at Matic, referencing last season’s FA Cup win as he wrote: “At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same.”
A day later and Onana was left red-faced when he allowed Thiago Almada’s free-kick to creep past him early on before another error led to Rayan Cherki scoring in stoppage time to secure a 2-2 draw at Groupama Stadium.
Amorim defended Onana post-match, saying: “It can happen. If you play football and you play a lot of games, you can make mistakes.
“There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that would help him. But I’m really confident in Andre.”
