LUKE LITTLER has pleaded for David de Gea to return to Manchester United after Andre Onana’s howler against Viktoria Plzen.
The Cameroonian was at fault as the Czechs took the lead at the Doosan Arena before the Red Devils fought back to win.
Onana, 28, was trying to pass out from the back, but his ball to Matthijs de Ligt was too short.
Pavel Sulc collected the ball and squared it to former Watford and Burnley ace Matej Vydra to score.
The mistake left Man United fan Littler seething as he reacted on social media.
The darts star posted a picture of his television showing the match with the caption: “Bring back Dave”. He has since deleted the post on X.
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Littler, 17, was referring to goalkeeper David de Gea, who left at the end of his contract in 2023.
The Spaniard was out of football for a whole season but is now playing in Italy for Fiorentina.
Stats have even suggested that the De Gea is performing as one of the best stoppers in Europe.
It is the latest error in Onana’s catalogue since joining Manchester United to replace De Gea.
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Earlier in the same game, he clattered into Casemiro, leaving the Brazilian in pain on the ground.
In the Red Devils, defeat to Nottingham Forest, Onana was beaten by an effort from Morgan Gibbs-White despite it being down the middle of the goal.
Fortunately, Onana was bailed out by his teammates on this occasion.
Substitute Rasmus Hojlund netted twice in order to turn the match on its head.
The striker benefitted after good work from Amad Diallo as he tapped into an empty net to score the equaliser.
He then latched onto a clever pass from Bruno Fernandes to fire home the winner in the 88th minute.
After the win, Fernandes came out in defence of Onana and insisted his error should not be “focused on”.
He told TNT Sports: “We want to play from the back. Everyone knows we have to make the right decision.
“Andre missed the pass, but there is nothing we should focus on. It’s not about Andre [Onana] making a mistake, we don’t look at individuals here.
“It’s about all the players involved, and we have huge belief in Andre.
“He knows he made a mistake, he’s a clever guy, we don’t need to tell him. He’s going to help us when playing out from the back – we trust his qualities on the ball.
Man Utd ratings vs Plzen as Hojlund and Amad spare Onana’s blushes are horror show
ANDRE ONANA had his blushes spared by Rasmus Hojlund as Manchester United fought back to win against Viktoria Plzen.
Here’s how SunSport’s Henry Tomlinson rated the Red Devils stars…
Andre Onana – 4
It was a very shaky start to the game in which Onana hurt Casemiro and failed to deal with the host’s crosses convincingly.
He made a massive error that led to Plzen taking the lead with his poor pass, leaving his defenders with no chance of bailing him out.
Diogo Dalot – 6
Dalot made some decent runs forward to join in with the attacks.
Defensively was fairly solid and was not often caught out.
Noussair Mazraoui – 6
Playing a bit more central, Mazraoui used his pace well to help out at the back.
Matthijs de Ligt – 6
He was sold short by Onana’s pass that led to the opener but otherwise was fine during the 90 minutes.
Lisandro Martinez – 6
Made himself available when Man United got forward but struggled with the physicality of the Plzen attackers.
Tyrell Malacia – 6
He offered very little going forward in the wing-back role as he struggled to combine with Marcus Rashford.
Casemiro – 6
He moved the ball forward when he could and recovered from an early blow from Onana.
Bruno Fernandes – 7
He was lucky to have escaped an early yellow card. Stung the goalkeeper’s gloves in the first half with a good effort.
His quick thinking set up Rasmus Hojlund to fire in a late winner.
Amad Diallo – 8
Diallo was a rare bright spark in Man United’s attack against Plzen.
It was his run that led to the equaliser, and he used his pace and skill to get past his defender.
Marcus Rashford – 4
Rashford was often loose on the ball and surrendered possession in the attacking third.
He received the first booking of the game for a needless foul and was lucky not to be sent off in the second half before being hooked by Ruben Amorim.
Joshua Zirkzee – 6
Took on the centre-forward role well, held the ball up and linked up play well enough.
Subs
Rasmus Hojlund 55′ – 8
Hojlund showed his striker instincts by being in the right position to grab Man United’s equaliser.
He then latched onto Fernandes’ clever pass to score the winner.
Antony 60′ – 6
He was involved in the equaliser by linking up with Diallo.
Mason Mount 60′ – 7
Made a positive impact after coming on and was unlucky not to score as he was denied twice by the goalkeeper after coming into the action.
Alejandro Garnacho 80′ – N/A
Failed to make a positive impact on his short spell on the pitch.
Manuel Ugarte 80′ – N/A
He slotted into the midfield as he replaced Casemiro late on.
“The most important thing is we had the resilience and fight to come back.
“It’s something we’ve been doing for a long time. We know the goalkeepers are good on the ball, they can play.
“We normally do it. It didn’t work this time but on many occasions it works.
“We trust Andre to keep doing the things he thinks are best. Mistakes happen, and if mistakes happen, goals can happen.”
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Onana’s questionable form has even seen Man United be linked with potential replacements.
AC Milan’s Mike Maignan has been tipped to be a target, but he is also liked by rivals Manchester City.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
