MAN UNITED CONFIDENTIAL: Onana residing as much as his Italian nickname

Andre Onana had to rely on his goalkeeper’s instinct when he made the penalty save that turned the game in Manchester United‘s favour at Southampton.

Clubs routinely do their homework on opponents’ penalty-takers and feed the data to their ‘keepers before games, but Saints striker Cameron Archer had never stepped up to the spot in his professional career and Confidential understands he wasn’t on the list given to Onana by the coaching staff that would have included Ben Brereton Diaz and Adam Armstrong.

Onana’s penalty saves for Inter Milan earned him the nickname il gatto che vola – the cat that flies – in Italy, but this time the cat was flying solo. The 28-year-old trusted his intuition and dived to his right to keep out Archer’s attempt. Eight minutes later, United were two goals ahead and well on the way to a much-needed 3-0 win.

It was the second big penalty save of Onana’s United career after his late stop from Jordan Larsson earned Erik ten Hag‘s side a Champions League win over FC Copenhagen last season.

He was also involved in two shootouts in pre-season, against Arsenal in Los Angeles and Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley, saving from Kai Havertz and Bernardo Silva. On both occasions, Onana used kidology to try and distract the penalty-takers, drawing an angry response from Arsenal’s Gabriel and an amused smile from City striker Erling Haaland.

But it didn’t get him very far and he decided not to mess with Archer despite the Saints player having to stand over the spot for some time while VAR checked that Diogo Dalot‘s foul on Tyler Dibling was inside the box.

More travel chaos for fans

Erik ten Hag rightly called out the Premier League and the TV companies for their scheduling after United beat Southampton on Saturday lunchtime – but the chaos for the club’s travelling fans is set to continue this weekend.

United wrote to the Premier League last season to outline their frustration after they were given more Saturday 8pm kick-offs than any other team, including trips to Newcastle and Brentford, plus night games at Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

But the Premier League has seemingly ignored their concerns after selecting United’s game at Palace on Saturday in the 5.30pm slot, a kick-off time that will only add to the club’s frustrations with the league.

And supporters hoping to take the train to the game face a race against time as there is only one direct service they could realistically catch back to Manchester after the match.

Barnsley No.2 is Utd starlet’s dad

United’s Carabao Cup clash with Barnsley at Old Trafford on Tuesday night isn’t the first cup tie between the two clubs this season even though it only kicked off a month ago.

A United Under-21s side came from two goals down to beat a young Barnsley team 3-2 at Oakwell in the EFL Trophy in August. Making his professional debut that night was United midfielder Jacob Devaney, the 17-year-old son of Barnsley assistant boss Martin Devaney who will be in the away dugout next to manager Darrell Clarke when the clubs meet again on Tuesday.

Jacob was a key member of the United Under-18s side that won the Treble last season, and was called up by Ten Hag to train with the first team in March.

Martin’s pinned post on his X account is a picture of Jacob signing his first professional contract at United. Reflecting on his son’s big night against Barnsley, Devaney Snr said: ‘It was very strange but it couldn’t have worked out any better.

‘For him to be making his pro debut against the town where he was born was very special. It’s a place that’s very close to my heart, and for him to make his debut against Barnsley was special for everyone, me included.

‘I reflected afterwards and thought about the pressure. He’s got the weight of Manchester United on him, and he’s in front of his friends and family. I think he dealt with it really well, and it will be a special moment that they will remember forever.’

One stand only for women’s opener

Only one stand will be open at Old Trafford when the women’s team kick off the WSL season at home to West Ham on Saturday.

United have contacted some fans to say their seats have been relocated to the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand so that all the supporters can be sat together there.

A club email read: ‘The reasons we have relocated your seat is to ensure the best possible atmosphere for fans and players. The only operating stand for this match will be the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.’

It explains why United would look to reduce the capacity of Old Trafford to 30,000 as a venue for the women’s and academy teams if they keep the existing stadium and build a new 100,000-seater arena for the first-team next door.

Kobbie goes back to school

Kobbie Mainoo has gone back to his old school as part of the new United documentary Lifeblood which airs on Friday.

It’s the third part of a series looking behind the scenes at United’s academy which has produced so many first-team players including Mainoo who is graduate No.246.

The England midfielder is filmed visiting Cheadle Catholic Junior School and chatting with the pupils. One of them asks Mainoo how he has managed to stay grounded and he replies: ‘I have never really been one to brag. I just keep my head down, keep trying to work hard and I try not to listen to people who keep on bigging me up. Obviously, I appreciate it, but you can’t let it get to your head.’

McTominay exit saddens McClair

Former United youth academy director Brian McClair laments the departure of Scott McTominay to Napoli in a £25.7million deal this summer.

The decision to end McTominay’s 22-year association with United was influenced by the fact that 100 per cent of the profit from selling homegrown plays counts towards the balance sheet for financial fair play rules.

But McClair also believes United saw an opportunity to upgrade in central midfield by selling McTominay and signing Manuel Ugarte for £50.5m from Paris Saint-Germain.

‘I’m very biased because Scott, of course, represents Scotland and we share the same birthday!’ McClair told SportsBoom. ‘I can go back to times where Scott had difficult periods in his formative time as a young academy boy, but I feel very privileged to have watched him grow into the adult and football player that he is.

‘You’re always disappointed when the players that have been there since they were eight years of age are no longer required, because there’s a view that it’s better to take the money.

‘It’s been well-documented that academy products, with regards to financial fair play, go in as pure profit. The cynical side of me would suggest that it may be the case, but maybe it’s just down to football terms. They think that they’ve got Ugarte at three or four years younger, and that maybe he’s a bit of a better player.’

Saints switch for away fans

United fans enjoyed somewhat of a novelty at Southampton on Saturday – a new away end.

Southampton have moved the visiting section at St Mary’s from the Northam Stand to the opposite corner of the stadium, giving United supporters a different view of the action compared with previous visits to St Mary’s.

The location may have been different but the result was familiar for United fans, who have not seen their team lose at Southampton for more than two decades.

Supporters count Euro cost

As if starting the season with two lunchtime kick-offs on the South Coast and a Saturday night trip to Crystal Palace isn’t bad enough, United fans will also have to pay more for European trips than supporters of their biggest rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

According to a new survey, United fans will have to spend on average £1,242 for travel and accommodation to watch the four away games in the group stage of the Europa League against FC Porto, Fenerbahce, Viktoria Plzen and FCSB.

It puts them third in a table of British football supporters travelling in Europe this season behind Aston Villa (£1,633) and Rangers (£1,346) but ahead of Liverpool (£1,188) and City (£1,150).

The full list put together by Footy Accumulators can be seen here. 

Benni wants to be the boss

It’s been three months since Benni McCarthy left his role as forwards’ coach at United and the South African is ready to return to work as a manager in his own right.

McCarthy, who previously took charge of Cape Town City and Amazulu, is interested in jobs in Africa and Major League Soccer.

‘I think it’s clear after leaving United, that passion for wanting to be a head coach again blew through and that is the next step for me,’ he said.

‘Whether it’s to go back to the African continent to manage one of the big teams with the knowledge I’ve gained, that would be amazing to try and make them one of the powerhouses in African football. Also to try and reach a final when you play in the Club World Cup, that would be the aim.

‘Or even the MLS interests me a lot. Opportunities like that I would welcome because I think I’ve got what it takes to manage there and to make players better and help teams achieve goals they’ve maybe not achieved in the last few years.’

McCarthy has kept a close eye on developments at United and believes they are more than capable of finishing in the top-four this season.

‘You can’t discard Man United,’ he added. ‘In two seasons under Erik ten Hag they have won two trophies. If they can take the cup form into the league and win on a consistent basis, then they are in with a chance – maybe not title contenders yet, but I definitely think to get themselves into the top-four again for Champions League football. Definitely they’ve got the squad of players to do so.’

Academy stars onside for Inside Out

The academy players and staff took part in the Inside Out campaign last week to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.

They wore items of clothing inside out to highlight the importance of talking about any issues by bringing out what is on the inside. The primary aim of the campaign is to help improve the health and well-being of young people, and academy stars Gabriel Biancheri and Tyler Fletcher were pictured at Carrington wearing T-shirts to show their support.

Awareness of mental health is a core part of the club’s A United Education, but specific dates in the calendar are used to emphasise the message.