Plus: Jeremy Doku followed up his impressive performance in Manchester City's 3-1 victory over West Ham with a positive impact off the bench against Red Star Belgrade; plus, Newcastle produce underwhelming display in Milan while it was the same old story for Celtic
Thursday 21 September 2023 13:38, UK
Even Andre Onana thinks Andre Onana is performing miserably for Manchester United.
He said: "I have a lot to prove. My start in Manchester has not been good or how I want."
Gary Neville is adamant the goalkeeping position at United is one of the most scrutinised and pressurised jobs in world football. Onana is certainly feeling that heat. It's now 15 goals conceded in six games.
The great goalkeepers are barely noticed. However, Onana is grabbing headlines, regularly trending on social media and issuing apologies front and centre in front of the cameras for performances.
There was the reckless punched clearance against Wolves that somehow, wrongly, survived a VAR appeal for a penalty.
Then the hapless retreat and stumble that allowed Taiwo Awoniyi to open the scoring for Nottingham Forest.
His critics would also point to perhaps some weak wrists on show for Declan Rice's winner for Arsenal and Joao Pedro's strike for Brighton in United's 3-1 defeat on Saturday.
But this moment at Bayern Munich was the biscuit taker. A non-league goalkeeper would have been devastated to have conceded in such a manner from Leroy Sane shot that lacked both power and accuracy. It was barely even a tickle.
Onana kept eight clean sheets for Inter Milan on their run to the Champions League final last season. Can someone regress so quickly? It begs the question of do we have another case of a top player signing for Manchester United and floundering in a somewhat chaotic and unstructured environment? The early signs suggest so.
Lewis Jones
David Raya is taking his Arsenal chance.
Two games, two clean sheets, the Brentford loanee has made a faultless start and justified Mikel Arteta's selection.
It was a decision that could have easily backfired. Aaron Ramsdale had started every Premier League match for Arsenal since March 2022 until he was dropped at Everton.
There was a feeling he would return for their opening Champions League fixture, but after Raya's assured displays, Ramsdale is now on the back foot and looks unlikely to return for Sunday's North London Derby.
Raya has taken the first two rounds. Seconds out. Round three.
David Richardson
Not for the first time, the Man City supporters were laughing at the misfortune of a Glazer. Julian Alvarez came to the rescue for the holders, who survived a major scare before seeing off Red Star Belgrade 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium.
Omri Glazer had frustrated them for an hour but the Red Star goalkeeper then flapped into his own net and Pep Guardiola's men motored on.
Bernardo Silva's fitness is now a concern after he hobbled off before half-time but his replacement Jeremy Doku, fresh from scoring his first City goal at the weekend, impressed again.
Guardiola had described the Belgian as 'shy' during his first appearance against Fulham earlier this month, but it was he who led the second-half charge alongside Alvarez.
City's night of glory in the Ataturk Stadium 103 days ago remains etched in the psyche of Citizens but Guardiola told his players they are 'back at the bottom of the mountain' as they look to now retain their Champions League crown.
Having someone like Doku eager to push for his first piece of City silverware ensures potential shocks such as on Tuesday night are eventually avoided with ease as the holders began their road to Wembley on the front foot.
Ben Grounds
The hype around Newcastle's Champions League return had been building ever since they secured their top-four place in the spring, which is perhaps why this performance felt so underwhelming.
Howe's side can be excused for their limp performance given they fielded eight Champions League debutants, while it should not be forgotten that Milan reached the semi-finals of this competition just a few months ago.
But it's now just two wins from six games in all competitions for Newcastle, who haven't played well since thrashing Aston Villa on the opening day of the season.
If they want to emerge from the toughest of the eight Champions League groups, Newcastle will have to show more than they mustered in Milan.
Joe Shread
It was the same old story for Celtic in the Champions League, they had their chances but ultimately suffered another away defeat.
They started brightly and had the best of the early chances but the timing of Feyenoord's opening goal could not have been worse.
It gave the hosts a lift after the break and their increasing pressure saw Celtic fall apart.
One red card makes it tough but two makes it almost impossible. Gustaf Lagerbielke might have been unfortunate, but Thiago Odin Holm can have no complaints about his dismissal.
Celtic can take some positives from the opening stages, but they will need to improve and cut out the mistakes ahead of their first home tie against Lazio next month.
Alison Conroy
