Author of an intense match against Bayern Munich for his first appearance in the colors of Inter Milan, Andre Onana was surely expecting to be congratulated by his coach, Simone Inzaghi, despite the defeat. But the technician in a press conference shocked the Cameroonian keeper with a surprising exit.
It was his night, the night of his big debut in the colors of Inter Milan. After arriving at the Lombardy club from Ajax Amsterdam, Andre Onana was limited to a role as a substitute for Samir Handanovic since the beginning of the season. While he thought he would be able to compete with the Slovenian keeper, the Cameroonian international had to be patient. And, surprise, it is against Bayern Munich, on the occasion of the 1st day of the group stage of the Champions League that he had the chance to be launched into the season by his coach, Simone Inzaghi.
Adversary far from ideal to start, but an opportunity for the Indomitable Lion to seize the chance that was given to him. And if on the field Inter Milan conceded a defeat in front of its public (2-0), André Onana was far from being ridiculous despite the goals conceded. The Cameroonian goalkeeper made some decisive saves against the Munich fury, including a face to face with Leroy Sané. He even finished the game with a total of 10 saves. A high number, showing a little more that he had to work during the game. In Italy, the Gazzetta dello Sport even gave him a score of 6/10, the highest among the Inter players (along with Darmian, Dzeko and Lautaro Martinez). A sign of his first appearance rather successful.
Les notes de la GdS après #InterBayern :
Onana : 6
D'Ambrosio : 5,5
Skriniar : 5
Bastoni : 5
Dumfries : 4,5
Mkhitaryan : 5,5
Brozovic : 5
Calhanoglu : 5,5
Gosens : 4,5
Dzeko : 6
Correa : 5
Lautaro : 6
Darmian : 6
Di Marco : 5,5
S.Inzaghi : 5 pic.twitter.com/WydsL4ZvMs— GuillaumeMP (@Guillaumemp) September 8, 2022
"No great saves by Onana".
Questioned in a press conference about his choice of keeper, Simone Inzaghi took his world by surprise with an exit to say the least. "Onana final choice? Absolutely not. Handanovic was rested tonight and he will be a starter at the weekend," said the Italian coach, before going on to talk about André Onana's performance: "Tonight, I don't remember any great saves from Onana, but we should do better with the first goal. We knew that Bayern have players like Sané, Coman and Mané who take up space."
While there are voices from the fans that want him to be lined up at the expense of Handanovic, who is far from his best years, Andre Onana may have to be satisfied with a position as an understudy.
André Onana a réalisé 10 arrêts lors de #InterBayern, plus que tout autre gardien de l'Inter en Champions League depuis qu'Opta collecte ces statistiques (depuis 2003/04). @OptaPaolo pic.twitter.com/lbw5n2Em1B
— Inter FR (@InterMilanFRA) September 8, 2022
