Manchester United signing labelled as 'explosive' has showed teammates how to silence critics

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A year ago Andre Onana walked into the away dressing room in the Allianz Arena and told his teammates he would take on media duties. His error had cost Manchester United the game so he would front up for them.

It was a gesture that was appreciated by those in Munich. Onana had let Leroy Sane's shot slip under him to give Bayern a 1-0 lead in a game United had started well. They eventually lost 4-3, a scoreline that flattered them in a helter-skelter game.

But Onana knew it could have been different had it remained goalless for longer "We started very well and after my mistake we lost control of the game," he said.

"It's a difficult situation for me, I let the team down. It's because of me we didn't win this game. We have to move on, it's the life of the goalkeeper."

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The problem with such a noble gesture is it can become self-fulfilling. When the mistakes kept happening, it would have looked daft for Onana to keep fronting up. Doing it once is appreciated but to have impact it needs to be a rarity. At the start of his United career, it wasn't.

Gradually he began to settle. The goalkeeper Erik ten Hag had identified as the long-term replacement for David de Gea and a player lauded by Pep Guardiola before and after the Champions League final slowly began to find his feet.

“I arrived as the best goalkeeper in the world and ‘boom’ it went down. It was like ‘what happened?’," Onana said before the FA Cup final in May.

“But that is how difficult football is sometimes. It depends if you want to stay down there or stand up and fight. I know what I did to arrive here. I know who I am. I decided to stand up and fight.”

He said it took him six months to "feel good" at United but he looks at home now. His distribution is gradually improving with a more settled back four in front of him and that should arguably become his greatest strength.

This week it's his shot-stopping that has taken centre stage, however. He has kept three clean sheets in five Premier League games this season and at Southampton and Crystal Palace he has really worked for them.

No longer is the 28-year-old facing a barrage of shots every game, but at St Mary's and Selhurst Park he has to do what great goalkeepers do and spring into action when called upon.

His save from Cameron Archer's penalty last week was excellent and he was up quickly to claim the follow-up header. At Crystal Palace on Saturday he produced a double save arguably even more extraordinary than David Raya's in midweek. He produced a strong left hand to keep out Eddie Nketiah's drive and then sprung up and spread himself brilliantly to deny Ismaila Sarr.

"Unbelievable save, Andre is so explosive. He’s such a great stopper. It’s twice in one action," said Ten Hag.

"We all see now how good he is. His reactions are so good, he’s so quick and we saw that with the save in the second half."

The £47m deal for Onana looks like money well spent now. He is developing a reputation as a penalty expert and that one moment alone against Palace was worth a point. He is one of the better talkers in the United squad and his desire to speak up should be applauded, but it's with his performances that he has truly silenced the critics.

A year and a day on from holding his hands up in Munich, he was in front of the TV cameras again at Selhurst Park. This time there was no apologising to be done.

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