Andre Onana was so sure of his ability to save shots during Saturday afternoon’s 2-0 victory of Manchester United over Everton at Old Trafford.

The score may have given the impression that Man United won easily, but the hard-charging underdogs continued to threaten the home team’s goal.

United only had 15 shots, compared to 23 for Everton. Despite having slightly more possession (51%), Erik Ten Hag’s team struggled to dictate the game’s flow as well.

United’s goalie, Andre Onana, made sure they held on to win in the end.

Early in the first half, Everton’s Ben Godfrey, a few metres from the line, came on the end of a cross and fired the ball into goal. We were fortunate that Onana lunged forward to seize the ball. Abdoulaye Doucouré soon after headed a dangerous cross goalward, but the Cameroonian keeper made an important stop.

United nearly caught Amadou Onana off surprise as he attempted a risky bicycle kick from the edge of the area during the second half. Thankfully, United’s mascot remained vigilant and successfully stopped the shot.

With nine minutes remaining in the match, Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed a corner kick from a few metres out, and Onana again came to United’s rescue.

Six stops were made by Onana in all, and they were crucial to maintaining United’s clean sheet. Specifically, he made two stops from outside the box, demonstrating his skill as United’s eleventh wide player.

Onana attempted 47 passes in total, but only completed 29 of them, for a dismal 62% passing accuracy, despite having 60 touches. To give you an idea of how involved he was in initiating United’s counterattacks, he hit nine out of 27 long balls. He made one crucial pass aside from that.

Onana was never dribbled past after clearing the ball once.

The only other thing about Onana’s game that concerned me was his awful throwing. Compared to other players on his team, he lost the ball the most (19 times). However, it’s also plausible that the team instructed the goalie to simply play the ball long and clear his lines, which would account for both of these statistics.

Overall, Onana played a fantastic game, particularly in terms of his ball-saving prowess.

Upon reflection on the season, it is evident that Onana is continuously adjusting to life at Old Trafford. His ability to stop shots is improving, and he is emerging as a crucial, if not indispensable, member of United’s defence.