Galatasaray 3-3 Manchester United: Onana’s errors, stressful display, ‘schoolboy’ football

Manchester United’s hopes of advancing to the last 16 of the Champions League took a serious blow after a remarkable 3-3 draw against Galatasaray.

Alejandro Garnacho put United ahead before Bruno Fernandes doubled his side’s lead. Hakim Ziyech then beat Andre Onana with a free kick before the break. Scott McTominay looked to have pulled United away from danger with a strike after half-time, but Ziyech then struck again after an Onana mistake. Kerem Akturkoglu’s strike levelled the game.

The result left United bottom of Group A with Copenhagen, in third, holding a game in hand over them.

Here The Athletic’s Carl Anka analyses the match.

What was Andre Onana doing?

After United’s 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich in the first matchweek, Andre Onana decided to give an interview of his own volition to apologise.

“We started very well and after my mistake we lost control of the game,” Onana said. “It’s a difficult situation for me, I let the team down. It’s because of me we didn’t win this game.”

It’s been a rollercoaster Champions League campaign for the Cameroon international, who again made goalkeeping errors in Turkey to turn a comfortable win into a damaging draw. Onana was wrong-footed by the flight of Ziyech’s free kick for Galatasaray’s first goal. The ball travelled in the gap vacated by the two Galatasaray players stood next to Fernandes, just as the United keeper had taken a step in the opposite direction.

Ziyech’s second free kick, which like the first, was given away by Fernandes, went in due to a genuine howler. Onana somehow leapt over the ball at a crucial moment and let the ball trickle past him. Galatasaray’s third goal from Kerem Akturkoglu was too strong and too fast for any blame to be apportioned to Onana, but it is concerning that a goalkeeper who was so impressive for Inter Milan last season seems to be so error-prone for United.

Onana has a rising tendency to parry shots back into dangerous areas when making saves – particularly towards his left (the right of the goal).

Four massive errors across five games have dramatically changed the complexion of Group A and left United with only a slim chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.

Will Manchester United ever not be stressful to watch?

One day, I would like to write about Manchester United controlling a game from minute one to minute 90.

Christmas is right around the corner; so the next time I talk to Santa Claus, I might ask them to gift Erik ten Hag’s men with calmness and composure on the ball.

If Santa is feeling generous, we might even ask for a little midfield stability as well.

Until that meeting, until that glorious day… we will continue to list a variety of statistics before shrugging at the oddity of it all.

United have scored 12 goals in the Champions League group stages — only Atletico Madrid and Manchester City have more than them. It is bizarre/frustrating/farcical (take your pick) that a team that scores so freely is still a ways off from qualifying for the knockout rounds.

Before kick off Ten Hag informed his players to treat the loud whistles from Galatasaray fans as a compliment, a sign they were doing their jobs properly. Things were looking good after Garnacho and Fernandes’ goals put United 2-0 up.

And then — as has happened with every game in United’s Champions League campaign — the tide began to turn. A midfield of Scott McTominay, Sofyan Amrabat and Fernandes found themselves vulnerable to the pacy counter-attacks of Galatasaray, and Ziyech’s free kick in the 29th minute wrong-footed Onana and halved United’s lead. McTominay struck after half-time, but another Ziyech free-kick and then Muhammed Kerem Akturkoglu’s strike levelled the game.

Maybe I’ll just ask Santa for a win against Bayern Munich instead.

Was it 10 minutes of thrilling — or schoolboy — football?

When the scores reached 3-3, midfield shape got abandoned and chaos reigned. On UK broadcaster TNT Sport, commentator Darren Fletcher described as it being “like schoolboy football”, as players on both sides went running after the ball trying to find a last-minute winner.

Rio Ferdinand said it “like a basketball game” such was the up-and-down nature of things.

A 30-second period saw Zaha go close with an attempt, only for United to march down the other end and a shot from Fernandes to hit the outside of the post.

A low cross from Diogo Dalot in the 89th minute set the cat among the pigeons and heart in mouths, but Facundo Pellistri could not quite get a connection.

More than 30 attempts were made on goal between two teams desperate to make the Champions League knockout stages. FC Copenhagen and Bayern Munich must have watched this early kick-off as they waited for their own clash and chuckled at the madness.

For the neutral it was thrilling. For the United or Galatasaray fan, it would have been agony.

What did Ten Hag say?

He refused to blame Onana, and said: “I think as a team we played very well. We win and lose together. You see the progress in this team. I take many positives from this game.

“We made some mistakes but we played the way I want my team to play. It was dynamic, brave and we scored great goals.

“We should have won with big chances from McTominay and Pellistri. I am disappointed because we should have won the game.”

What next for Manchester United?

Saturday, Dec 2: Newcastle United (A), Premier League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET

Back in domestic football, Ten Hag’s side have won five of their last six Premier League games. Newcastle could be a sterner test than many of the sides seen off in that run, however, with Manchester United only winning one of their last five meetings.

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(Top photo: BSR Agency/Getty Images)