Football

Onana secures Man United a win with late penalty save

Manchester United have won a Champions League match for the first time since a 2-0 away victory against Villarreal on 23 November 2021 after getting past Copenhagen 1-0 at Old Trafford in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League fixture.

The Red Devils went into the game, their third group stage game, needing a win to keep their UCL campaign alive after losing to Bayern Munich 4-3 and Galatasaray 2-1 in their opening two games of the group stage.

Manager Erik Ten Hag spoke about the need for the Red Devils to win if they wanted to keep their UEFA Champions League campaign alive, and they needed two of the most underfire Manchester United players to save the day.

Defender Harry Maguire scored in the 72nd minute of the game as Manchester United broke a strong Danish side. However, their victory was not secured until Andre Onana, who has had a controversial start to life at Old Trafford, saved a late penalty to keep United’s lead and consequent win.

The win is their first Champions League victory at Old Trafford since 20 October 2021 in a 3-2 win against Atalanta.

Onana, who saved a late penalty, played down any heroic tag to his exploits but rather said he was focused on the team winning.

“I’m just doing my job; the most important thing is to win against a tough team. I am happy for the victory, we did a good game and a big goal from Harry [Maguire]. We are Manchester United. We are a big club, big players. It’s just a matter of time; now, we have to continue like this. I have no doubt we will make it.” Onana said.

Tuesday’s UCL final scores:

GROUP A

Galatasaray 1-3 Bayern Munich

Manchester United 1-0 Copenhagen

GROUP B

Lens 1-1 PSV Eindhoven

Sevilla 1-2 Arsenal

GROUP C

Union Berlin 0-1 Napoli

Braga 1-2 Real Madrid

GROUP D

Inter Milan 2-1 Red Bull Salzburg