In his post-match interview, Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana unequivocally expressed his emotions following the denial of a last-minute penalty for Wolves in Monday’s encounter at Old Trafford.
The 27-year-old, who marked his highly anticipated Premier League debut subsequent to a £47.2 million transfer from Inter Milan, maintained a clean sheet as United struggled to secure a less-than-convincing 1-0 victory.
He showcased numerous exceptional saves and displayed skillful ball control, yet a clumsy challenge on Wolves’ forward Sasa Kalajdzic marred an otherwise sturdy performance.
During the 95th minute, the former Cameroon international collided with Kalajdzic, resulting in the latter collapsing to the ground.
Nevertheless, the decision was reached that no evident and unmistakable foul had occurred.
Undoubtedly, this incident emerged as the most significant topic of discussion from a game in which many hold the belief that Manchester United were fortunate to attain three points. What is your perspective on whether it should have been considered a penalty?
Should Wolves have had a penalty? 😬 pic.twitter.com/U2v3fnHhDM
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 14, 2023
After the final whistle, United ‘keeper Onana was asked about the penalty incident in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.
“Goalkeepers make decisions, sometimes you are right, sometimes you are not,” he said. “I made a decision and I am responsible for everything. For me, it was contact between two big guys. I was calm and nothing happened.”
Onana was then asked if he was “very confident” that it wouldn’t have been a penalty. He replied, “Of course I was confident” before delivering a wry smile.
You can check out the interview in full below.
🗣️ “No, totally no.”
André Onana was confident that Wolves wouldn’t get a penalty for his collision with Sasa Kalajdzic late in the game last night.pic.twitter.com/A11AGDuovj
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 15, 2023
In the Sky Sports studio on Monday night, both Gary Neville and Karen Carney agreed that Wolves should have been a penalty.
“The reason I thought it was a penalty was because Onana wasn’t anywhere near the ball,” Neville said. “He was always under it, was never getting there, and could have made a decision before he jumped.
“I always used to say if my goalkeeper was coming out they should clatter the lot, he’s done that, so in some ways, he has done what I’d want my goalkeeper to do, but the problem is he’s nowhere near the ball.
“He’s decided to disturb as much as he can and put the attacking player off, and it’s a penalty because he wasn’t close enough to the ball.
“If he arrived at the same time and he just missed the ball, it would have been a different story, but I think he knows what he’s doing.”
Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, had a differing opinion. “I wasn’t sure when I initially saw it,” he said.
“When it hadn’t been given, I didn’t think there was any way in the world it would have been overturned. Once the referee hadn’t given it, I didn’t think it was a big enough mistake for them to overturn.”
Thoughts on the incident? Do you think Wolves should have been awarded a last-minute penalty at Old Trafford?
Let us know in the comments.