Kamis, 30 November 2023

Galatasaray 3-3 Man Utd in Champions League: Andre Onana costs side dearly




In a throwback to the era of Istanbul's infamous old Ali Sami Yen Stadium, where United laboured in Europe 30 years ago, another banner read 'Your Nightmare Is Back Again' - and they were prophetic words for the hapless Onana.

If United fail to make it out of Champions League Group A, and there is every chance that happens after they twice squandered a two-goal advantage to draw 3-3 in a chaotic classic in Istanbul, Onana will take a large share of the blame.

Bayern Munich's draw with Copenhagen later in the evening means United must beat the German side in a fortnight and hope Galatasaray draw with the Danish side in order to qualify.

Erik ten Hag says Man Utd throwing away leads is 'my responsibility'
United's inability to cash in when in control of games in the Champions League this season has been an Achilles heel.

They also let a 2-0 lead slip in the 4-3 loss in Copenhagen and could now face a heavy price, with their fate out of their hands and Bayern Munich, with of course Harry Kane, to come in the final game at Old Trafford.

No-one can complain about entertainment value in United's return to the Champions League but it rather loses its lustre when you list the five leads they have lost.

Fans, management and players will look back with regret at a 4-3 loss away to Bayern, a 3-2 defeat at home to Galatasaray, that 4-3 reverse away to Copenhagen and now this magnificent rollercoaster in Istanbul.

All very entertaining - but not necessarily for the Manchester United fans who would simply prefer to see their team win.

And if United are to be consigned to the Europa League on a Thursday night, or even no European football at all after Christmas, then a lot of the blame will be directed at Onana's performance against Galatasaray.

His performance in Turkey once again flouted his billing as one of the game's top keepers when he arrived from Inter Milan in the summer after helping the Italian club reach last season's Champions League final.

Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast
Reaction to United's draw in Istanbul
It would be stretching the point to suggest tears were shed when David de Gea ended his 12-year association with Manchester United last summer, but there may be some wistful glances towards a goalkeeper still seeking employment given Onana's performances so far this season.

The Cameroon keeper has looked uncertain and vulnerable - although not necessarily without confidence, judging by one neat pirouette almost on the halfway line against Galatasaray - and has not yet resembled a vast upgrade on De Gea.

Since 2018-19, he has made the most errors leading to opposition goals by goalkeepers in the Champions League, with seven costly mistakes.

If Galatasaray's fans wanted to conjure up images of nightmares, it certainly worked for Onana, who produced a horror show to undermine much of United's good work.

United looked as impressive as at any time this season when they burst out of the blocks, unaffected by the usual deafening atmosphere to strike two wonderful early blows from Alejandro Garnacho and captain Bruno Fernandes.

It was all going as smoothly as things can go against Galatasaray on their own turf before Onana got his positioning all wrong for Hakim Ziyech's free-kick that put them back in the game.

Scott McTominay restored United's position of relative dominance by making it 3-1 10 minutes after half-time until Onana conjured up a truly rotten piece of goalkeeping to give the Turkish champions hope once more just after the hour.

Ziyech's angled free-kick with his left foot hardly carried mighty power and was directed straight at the goalkeeper with no other players in close attendance applying pressure.

Onana appeared to attempt to scoop the ball out with his right hand only to oblige Galatasaray by helping it into the net. Ziyech looked almost as stunned by the outcome as United's keeper and his team-mates.

It gave Galatasaray momentum just when it seemed they were starting to run on empty and they earned their point with a powerful strike from substitute Kerem Akturkoglu with 19 minutes left.

There followed a frenetic finale with chances at both ends, a winner somehow avoiding either side as the game became wide open in the closing stages.

The 27-year-old arrived in a £47m deal with a big reputation and as someone well known to Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag from their time at Ajax - but he has done little to justify his fee and this was his worst night so far.

It was an even bigger source of regret because much of United's play was commendable until Onana took a hand - or in this case, did not.

United must now beat formidable Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on 12 December, although they may be helped by the fact Thomas Tuchel's side have already topped the group.

If United fail to progress they will be desperately frustrated after a campaign that has contained so many self-inflicted wounds. This jeopardy could have been avoided.

There is still hope but 

Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport Sport

Rabu, 29 November 2023

Ex-rugby referee Nigel Owens warns players of sin-bin 'culture shock'




Owens has backed the trial plans to introduce sin-bins in professional football for dissent and cynical fouls.

The plans mirror the 10-minute sin-bins in rugby union and Owens says it would give officials "an extra tool".

However, he also says there will be "inconsistencies" to contend with.

The game's law-making body, the International Football Association Board (Ifab), said it will "identify which levels are best to test".

The trial will also include a rule allowing only the team captain to approach the referee during a game.

Sin-bins have been trialled at grassroots level since 2019.

If adopted, the proposals would apply to both both men's and women's football.

Owens, who refereed 100 Test matches before his 2020 retirement, says bringing in sin-bins in football is "something positive because it gives the referee an extra tool really, in dealing with cynical foul play or dissent, in particular".

He told BBC Radio Wales: "The problem you will have is when you introduce something new like this, it can open things up to maybe sometimes inconsistencies around the decisions that are made.

"But that's something as a group of officials - and these are professional, high quality officials who are at this level - they hopefully will be able then to make good decisions and come collectively to be as consistent as they as they can around it.

Owens, who refereed the 2015 World Cup final, says dissent is "creeping into rugby as well" and believes "culture in society" is the cause.

Rugby players who earn referees' ire can prompt penalty decisions being reversed and "tends to mean that the players will stop surrounding the referees".

The oval-game's captains have the role of liaising with referees and can ask for clarification on why decisions have been made.

Ifab's plans also include only captains speaking to referees on the pitch.

"Now in football that is going to be a bigger challenge, but I certainly think again this is something that will benefit the game," said Owens.

"I'm not an avid football supporter, but I enjoy watching and I think everybody, even the most ardent football supporter, will say that surrounding the referees, everybody questioning decisions, everybody running around him, is not needed in the sport.

He added: "That will probably take a little bit more hard work to get players to change their behaviour because they're used to doing it and it's going to be a huge cultural change and shock for them."

'Vile abuse' must be dealt with
Owens also backed 2023 World Cup final referee Wayne Barnes' call for those indulging in "over the line" social media abuse to be held to account.

Barnes' television match official colleague Tom Foley has also revealed similar experiences.

Owens said: "It is vile and it is very sad. It is the society we live in. That doesn't make it right whatsoever.

"The problem you have with the introduction of social media, this is very difficult now because it's outside of rugby's control.

"If you have a player or a coach who is active in the game, or if you have a club committee member or your local grassroots rugby supporters, you know abusing the referees - which crosses that line of what is acceptable or not - the rugby authorities are able to deal with it.

"The problem you have on social media [is there are] people hiding behind a fake name, a fake profile. They could be somebody who has no affiliation to any rugby club or rugby organisation at all.

"It's very difficult for rugby to deal with that. It then becomes an issue where social media and governments need to put things in place to deal with these type of vile actions to be able to identify these individuals and deal with it.

"I had death threats in 2011 World Cup and I've had letters since, sent to my home here.

"It's the world we live in. It's not nice, but something needs to be done. What exactly can we do about it? That is that is the challenge, I believe."

WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB WEB

Liverpool win EFL Cup with Van Dijk extra-time header

Virgil van Dijk's header deep into extra time gave an under-strength Liverpool a remarkable Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea at Wemble...