How Andre Onana’s Man Utd start compares to David de Gea

Public perception in football is one of the most volatile elements on the planet. As the Spanish manager Joaquin Caparros once said: “You go from whore to nun in 24 hours.”

Andre Onana has endured the opposite trajectory during his embryonic Manchester United career. Arriving as the answer to the club’s need for a modern goalkeeper in the summer calls for the return of the discarded David de Gea have swollen within two months.

While Onana’s notable missteps naturally stick in the mind, what do the statistics say about his start at Old Trafford?

To mitigate the small sample size afforded by just eight Premier League matches, Onana’s stats can be compared to De Gea’s performances from last season in the corresponding fixtures.

Here’s how the numbers stack up.

All stats from Opta (via FBref), correct as of 8 October 2023.

Brentford’s opener against Manchester United on the eve of the October international break was a clownish compilation of errors. After blunders from Casemiro and Victor Lindelof, Onana completed the carnage by limply rolling his glove over Mathias Jensen’s weak shot.

Based on Opta’s post-shot xG model – which provides an estimate for the likelihood of an effort beating the goalkeeper based on the speed, trajectory and positioning of each shot – Jensen’s attempt would have been stopped by nine out of ten goalkeepers.

Onana was the odd one out on Saturday but regained his composure to make some crucial rebuttals before Scott McTominay’s late heroics. Naturally, the saves that Onana does make are easily forgotten compared to his gaffs. The advanced shot-stopping model suggests that Onana has only conceded one goal more than the average keeper would be expected to this season.

In the equivalent fixtures last term, De Gea only performed marginally better, conceding nine goals from a PSxG of 8.5.

Yet, the Spaniard was not without his own blunders last term, limply letting Josh Dasilva’s pea-roller squirm through his gloves in United’s trip to Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium in August. These moments are conveniently left out of the flurry of De Gea save compilations that sweep across social media after every goal Onana concedes.

Upon his arrival in July, Erik ten Hag declared that with Onana “something will change in our game”. Yet, Onana seems to have bent to United’s will.

The Champions League finalist with Inter was lauded by UEFA’s technical report of the showpiece event as “less a sweeper-keeper than a holding midfielder” but has gradually resorted to the safety-first kicking approach adopted by De Gea.

While Onana has been more inclined to keep his goal kicks short, there is very little difference in the average length of passes in open play. Both keepers tend to pick out options around 30 yards away – for comparison, Liverpool’s Alisson, one of the division’s best custodians in possession, averages passes of 26.5 yards.

However, Onana has completed his attempts at a considerably higher clip than De Gea – even if some of the stray balls that he has hit have been ruthlessly pounced upon.

There’s an argument that the rotating cast of unconvincing defenders in front of both goalkeepers doesn’t help create a sense of assurance in United’s backline, but the frailty of Onana and De Gea at crosses is also a factor.

Only Tottenham Hotspur’s stand-in Fraser Forster stopped a smaller percentage of crosses than De Gea last season, with the Spaniard rebuffing a pitiful 2%. Onana can double that return but still ranks as one of the least convincing catchers in the division; only three keepers have stopped fewer deliveries this term.

De Gea surprisingly attempted more defensive actions outside the safety of his penalty area in last season’s corresponding fixtures but did most of his work within the box. Onana was sent home from the 2022 World Cup by Cameroon coach Rigobert Song after refusing to compromise on his front-foot approach, which he has transferred to Old Trafford.

Onana may not have made the most convincing start to his United career but it hasn’t been as catastrophic as many may think – particularly compared to De Gea’s comparable showing. And in the fickle world of football, it can all change in the short space of one game.

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