Gabby Agbonlahor DEFEATS Andre Onana after furious at ‘easy target’ Harry Maguire during Dortmund loss
Gabby Agbonlahor has punched Andre Onana after his outburst against Harry Maguire during Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas.
United’s new £47 million goalkeeper made his second appearance for the club, coming on just after half-time for Tom Heaton, with Erik ten Hag’s side scoring a goal after Donyell Malen’s quickfire brace.
About 47 minutes into the game, the former Inter Milan goalkeeper became furious with his defender, who was linked with an exit from the club, after he gave away possession and allowed the Dortmund forwards on goal.
Onana was on hand to block Sebastien Haller’s first attempt by parrying the ball to Karim Adeyemi who, fortunately for United, shot his shot wide.
After the ball went dead, the Cameroonian shot-stopper immediately marched to Maguire on the other side of the penalty area and berated the former Manchester United captain.
Andre Onana (pictured) has been berated by Gabby Agbonlahor for berating Harry Maguire during Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund
Maguire (pictured) seemed to give the ball away, giving Dortmund the chance to shoot
United’s new £47 million goalkeeper rushed to Maguire and shouted at him for giving the ball away
While it’s unclear what the goalkeeper said to the defender, it was an outburst of anger, with former Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor claiming the 27-year-old’s reaction was unwarranted.
“First of all, Harry Maguire did nothing wrong,” Agbonlahor told talkSPORT.
“He gave the ball to a midfielder who gave it away and I feel like he’s an easy target.
“I don’t like that about Onana, I fell like he’s an easy target.
“Do you do that to (Lisandro) Martinez? I don’t think you, or even (Marcus) Rashor, are like that?’
It’s been a tough few weeks for Maguire, who was relieved of his captaincy duties by Ten Hag, with the Dutch manager opting to hand over the armband to Bruno Fernandes.
The club also recently set a valuation for their centre-back, but turned down a £20 million bid for him from West Ham this week.
The 30-year-old was criticized for his performances over the past year and fell down the pecking order at the club, with Ten Hag opting to play Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane for him.
The Dutch manager has penalized criticism of the central defender, but Agbonlahor considers him an ‘easy target’ and claimed Onana’s criticism was unjustified.
“Maguire is an easy target, so I didn’t like that.
“I would understand if it was a big mistake and cost a goal, or if it was Harry Maguire’s mistake, to be honest, but I want to see that same energy from every player.
“I understand that he (Onana) tries to set high standards, but if you watch games with him, he gave the ball away a lot and made mistakes.”
After the game, the goalkeeper admitted there was no bad blood between him and the United defender, with Onana claiming he has high standards for himself and his teammates.
“I demand a lot from them because they are great players,” he told MUTV.
“With these defenders, Martinez and Harry (Maguire), they are great players, they are doing great things and they are important players for the club.
Agbonlahor (pictured) claimed Maguire was an ‘easy target’ and said ‘the defender did nothing wrong’
Maguire (pictured) was recently suspended as United captain, with the club rejecting a £20 million offer from West Ham to buy him
“I’m very lucky to be part of this team and playing with them is great.”
“I try to demand a lot from him because I know he is a good player
“I try to talk to them a lot because I know he’s a good player, he’s one of the captains of the team. That’s big and he’s good with the ball, so I would demand a lot from him and he’s a good guy.
‘I have a good relationship with him. I have to and he has to be ready and I’ve talked to him because when I’m in goal I demand a lot from everyone.’
“I’ll start with myself because I think we’re in this together and there will be mistakes,” he added.
‘We don’t have to be afraid to make mistakes, because this is part of life and we learn from the mistakes.
‘So we have to be very critical of ourselves. And if we want to win prizes, we have to demand a lot. And for me it’s a great honor to be here and I’m very happy to be working with these guys, Harry is a top man and a fantastic player. We go on.’
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