Viktoria Plzen boss Miroslav Koubek admitted that they deliberately targeted Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana.
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Onana's mistake allowed Plzen to scoreHosts persistent in pressing the keeperKoubek instructed his players to test OnanaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
Plezn's approach paid off as Onana’s mistake led to the opening goal of the match on Thursday night. Just two minutes into the second half, Onana attempted to initiate play from the back, but Pavel Sulc intercepted his pass. He then quickly laid the ball across the box for Matej Vydra who found the back of the net with ease, giving the home side a surprising lead.
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Speaking after the game, Koubek confirmed to reporters that Plzen’s plan was to exploit Onana’s vulnerabilities.
"Yes, that was our tactic," he said. "I told them to shoot from every viable opportunity."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Koubek’s tactical gamble almost paid off handsomely, but Plzen failed to hold on to their advantage, ultimately succumbing to United’s determined response with Rasmus Hojlund scoring a brace to bail out his team-mate. After two consecutive defeats in the Premier League, it was a welcome victory for Ruben Amorim, who is yet to implement his vision and philosophy at Carrington after a month of taking charge.
DID YOU KNOW?
The latest error comes just days after Onana faced criticism for his performance in Manchester United’s 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest. In that game, United found themselves trailing early to a second-minute strike by Nikola Milenkovic. Although Hojlund once again came to United’s rescue with an equaliser, Onana’s inability to keep out Morgan Gibbs-White’s long-range effort in the second half helped give Forest the win. The England international’s speculative shot appeared to deceive Onana, who misjudged the trajectory as it flashed past him into the net.