Manchester United avoided getting embarrassed in Germany after some shaky goalkeeping in their opening Champions League game, losing 4-3 against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
After a promising opening to the game, the wheels started to fall off for Manchester United after Leroy Sane’s shot in the 28th minute slipped through Andre Onana’s hands to give the hosts a first-half lead.
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Bayern Munich get a gift from André Onana!
A howler from Man Utd’s keeper. ? pic.twitter.com/RZYn8xSHQp
— CBS Sports Golazo ?? (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 20, 2023
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One to forget for Onana as former Cityzen Leroy Sané gives Bayern Munich the lead.
Watch #UCL action live on DAZN. pic.twitter.com/4s4opdr2w5
— DAZN Canada (@DAZN_CA) September 20, 2023
“We started very good. After my mistake, we lost control of the game. It’s a difficult situation for us, for me,” Onana told TNT Sports post-match, according to BBC Sport.
The blunder was the latest blemish this season for the Cameroonian goalkeeper, who has struggled since joining Manchester United from Inter Milan.
“I have a lot to prove. My start in Manchester hasn’t been so good, not how I want. This was one of my worst games,” Onana said.
“It’s a tough time. We have to be together and work hard,” he added.
Bayern Munich doubled their lead shortly after the opening goal when Serge Gnabry beat Onana from inside the penalty area in the 32nd minute.
In the second half, Rasmus Hojlund scored his first Manchester United goal before Harry Kane converted a penalty to restore Bayern’s two-goal advantage. Then Bayern Munich wiped out another United comeback bid after Casemiro’s strike was canceled out by Mathys Tel’s goal.
Onana has now conceded 14 goals in six games in all competitions.
Jordan Raanan is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Raanan covers the New York Giants. You can follow him via Twitter @JordanRaanan.
Nick Wagoner
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ESPN Staff Writer
Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL at ESPN since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In his 10 years with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga. You can follow Nick via Twitter @nwagoner
Sep 21, 2023, 11:35 PM ET
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The San Francisco 49ers pulled out a 30-12 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night, and while the 49ers may not have looked unbeatable, they did more than enough to handle a banged-up opponent.
The Giants kept hanging around until the fourth quarter, when the Niners put it away late. Here’s what to know about each team’s performance:
San Francisco 49ers
It wasn’t always pretty, and it wasn’t as easy as the final score might indicate, but the 49ers took care of business.
On a short week, the Niners, without injured receiver Brandon Aiyuk (shoulder), labored through the win. While the Giants were short-handed in their second game of a West Coast swing, there’s no need for the 49ers to apologize for another victory as San Francisco moved to 3-0 for just the second time in the past 25 years.
But if this win taught anything, it’s that Aiyuk’s value to the Niners should not be discounted. The Giants entered this game having blitzed more than any team in the league since the start of 2022. They lived up to that reputation, relentlessly sending extra rushers at 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy.
Those blitzes were effective in the first half, not only in pressuring Purdy but in causing him to be off target and forcing Niners coach Kyle Shanahan to resort to more screens and quick passes instead of the intermediate routes he often prefers.
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That is where Aiyuk would have made a difference. Dating to the start of last season, Aiyuk has 50 catches (tied for 8th in the NFL) for 679 yards (tied for 9th) against man coverage. Nobody on the Niners more consistently and quickly beats man coverage than Aiyuk.
In the second half, fellow wideout Deebo Samuel (six catches for 129 yards and a touchdown) and tight end George Kittle (seven receptions for 90 yards) helped pick up the slack, and the Niners defense dominated the Giants.
To be sure, the 49ers did the right thing keeping Aiyuk, whom they’d like to sign to a contract extension in the offseason, out Thursday night so he can use the extra rest to get healthy for the long haul. But his absence should also only bolster how much they value him for the rest of this season. And beyond.
QB breakdown: With defenders constantly in his face, Purdy had a bit of an odd night, though his final numbers turned out quite good. Purdy finished 25 of 37 for 310 yards with two touchdowns for a passer rating of 111.3. Purdy put the ball in harm’s way a handful of times and was fortunate to avoid turnovers in the first half, but he was outstanding on third down and came on late in the game. It wasn’t his best performance, but Purdy is now one of only four quarterbacks to start a career with at least eight straight regular season wins in the Super Bowl Era (since 1966).
Purdy was blitzed on 74% of his dropbacks, the highest blitz rate faced by a QB with 30 dropbacks since Colin Kaepernick in 2013 (88% vs Cardinals). The 29 blitzes Purdy faced were more than double his previous high (14). Purdy’s 236 passing yards against the blitz were the most by a passer since Aaron Rodgers in 2021.
Troubling trend: The Niners entered the night tied for the fifth-most penalties in the league and did nothing to assuage those concerns against the Giants. San Francisco finished with six penalties for 71 yards, including two for 37 yards that set up New York’s first touchdown of the game.
Eye-popping stat: After scoring on a four-yard run in the first half, Niners running back Christian McCaffrey now has a touchdown in 12 consecutive games (including playoffs), tying him with Jerry Rice for the longest streak in franchise history. Lenny Moore has the record for most consecutive games with a TD — including playoffs — at 17. — Nick Wagoner
Next game: vs. Cardinals (4:25 p.m. ET, Oct. 1)
Daniel Jones was 22-of-32 for just 137 yards, which was a 4.3 average. AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez
New York Giants
This wasn’t a no-contest like the 40-0 opening loss to Dallas. The shorthanded Giants hung around Thursday night, keeping it within a score into the fourth quarter.
Ultimately, the Giants couldn’t beat the more talented 49ers, especially with a couple bounces and costly penalties going against them. But it wasn’t for a lack of effort. The Giants would’ve had to play a perfect game in order to win on the road in prime time without four starters (running back
