UEFA Conference LeaguePublished 2 weeks ago 2 min read Español

Onana lets in a corner-kick blooper, then saves a penalty in Trabzonspor's 4-2 win

The goalkeeper on loan from Manchester United had a night of extremes: he let in an unbelievable corner-kick goal but then saved a crucial penalty in the rout of Kuopion Palloseura.

Onana lets in a corner-kick blooper, then saves a penalty in Trabzonspor's 4-2 win

Quite the match in the stands at Trabzonspor, above all to witness what André Onana did between the posts. The goalkeeper on loan from Manchester United experienced it all in the 4-2 win over Kuopion Palloseura in the Conference League: a goal that literally slipped through his hands, and a penalty he stopped to save the night.

Trabzonspor came out firing. Just 3 minutes in, striker Paul Onuachu, formerly of Southampton, had already made it 1-0. The Turkish side kept up the pace, and before halftime the second goal arrived courtesy of Mohamed Salah, who left Liverpool this summer to join the Turkish project and has now racked up eight goals in his last eight matches. With that kind of scoring touch, it's no surprise the team went into the break with a comfortable lead.

The 3-0 came just after the restart, in the 47th minute, and it looked like the night was already decided. But soccer always leaves room for the unexpected. A corner kick taken by Petteri Pennanen sailed over Onana and ended up nestling in the back of the net. The Cameroonian keeper jumped and stretched out his arm, but couldn't get a touch on it. He lay on the turf after the goal, with that sense of helplessness every goalkeeper knows when a ball sails over them like that.

The good news is that soccer also hands out quick second chances. Shortly after that blow, Kuopion Palloseura had a shot at closing the gap with a penalty. Onana dove to his right and got a hand on the shot, and as if that wasn't enough, the rebound sailed over the crossbar. A sequence that sums up, in a matter of seconds, what a goalkeeper's night can look like: from blooper to hero.

Riding the emotional lift from that save, Trabzonspor struck again. Franculino Dju scored his second goal of the night to make it 4-1 in stoppage time, before the Finnish side pulled one back again to make the final score 4-2.

For Onana, this season marks his second straight loan spell in Turkish soccer away from Manchester United. He had joined the Red Devils in 2023 from Inter Milan, but as the months went by he lost his standing and fell out of Michael Carrick's plans, something he was told this past summer. Still, the goalkeeper remains under contract with United for two more years, so his medium-term future stays tied to the English club even though his present is now in Turkey.

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