At a time when Erik ten Hag's transfer policy is coming under some scrutiny, Andre Onana picked a bad moment to commit his first high-profile howler for Manchester United.
The Cameroon goalkeeper has shipped 14 goals in his first six games and addressed concerns over his shaky start at United when he spoke to the media ahead of the Champions League tie against Bayern Munich.
'I don't think I'm here because I'm good with my feet. First I have to save the goals,' he said.
Twenty-four hours later, Onana made his first real blunder when he spilled Leroy Sane's effort into his net in United's 4-3 defeat at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night.
There was still the best part of an hour - and six more goals - to go, but it changed the tone of the match and United never truly recovered.
In Onana's defence, he made some key saves as United somehow stayed in the game. There have been other important interventions, notably in the win over Nottingham Forest, and he has had to play behind a defence disrupted by injuries.
The 27-year-old was also big enough to insist on talking to the media again after the game to take the blame - a gesture rejected by his captain Bruno Fernandes.
'It's not about Andre. He hasn't to take any blame for nothing,' said Fernandes. 'We have to take the blame as a team that we're going to go through this moment together.
'Andre is a great goalkeeper. He will keep giving us a lot of points, a lot of saves.' The mood among the United players at the moment is that it's vital to maintain unity amid the dreadful start to the season. There is a feeling that some of the togetherness fostered during Ten Hag's first season has been lost.
The situation hasn't been helped by off-the-field issues that mean Antony and Jadon Sancho aren't training with the first-team squad at present.
There was also some disquiet over the way David de Gea's 12-year United career came to an end as he was ushered out of the back door after Ten Hag decided he wanted a keeper who was better with the ball at his feet.
None of that was Onana's fault, of course. But having planned to sell Dean Henderson and sign a new back-up keeper for De Gea, United blew a larger chunk of their budget by buying Onana from Inter Milan for £47.2million - a year after he left Ten Hag and Ajax on a free transfer.
It's the kind of money that could have made the difference between getting Harry Kane rather than Rasmus Hojlund this summer. Both Kane and Hojlund scored for their teams in the Allianz Arena, but there is no doubt who would be the greater asset to United right now.
Onana is one of a number of Holland-based players who have followed Ten Hag to United, the manager showing a strong preference for going Dutch which has raised some questions.
Antony also moved from Ajax at a cost of £85m and has yet to justify that transfer fee. At the time, United were unaware of the allegations that the Brazilian assaulted two women, which he strongly denies and is currently contesting while on paid leave.
Lisandro Martinez was one of the success stories of Ten Hag's first season in charge, but the former Ajax defender has yet to find his rhythm this term.
Martinez has been struggling with a foot injury after fracturing a metatarsal towards the end of last season, and was criticised for his role in Pascal Gross' second goal when Brighton beat United on Saturday.
Christian Eriksen, another player with Ajax connections, made a strong start at United but hasn't hit the same heights since returning from an ankle injury in April.
Meanwhile, Tyrell Malacia has yet to make a real impact following his move from Feyenoord last year and is one of a number of United players currently out through injury.
Under Ten Hag, United have also spent £72m on Hojlund, £60m on Mason Mount and £70m on Casemiro who has also struggled to reproduce his fine form of last season despite scoring twice against Bayern on Wednesday.
Having spent £400m on new players, this is Ten Hag's United now and that is one of the most disconcerting aspects about the club's poor start.
The other concern, highlighted by Mail Sport earlier this week, is the influence Ten Hag's representative Kees Vos and his agency Sport Entertainment Group are having over player signings and sales at Old Trafford.
SEG took over as Hojlund's agents before he joined United and were involved in a number of other deals including Sofyan Amrabat's loan from Fiorentina.
It's a distraction Ten Hag can well do without as he tries to steady the ship at Burnley on Saturday.
Hopefully, he will have some reinforcements having been unfortunate with injuries so far: 10 of the 12 players unavailable to him in Munich were receiving treatment.
But Fernandes dismissed that as an excuse, saying: 'No, it's not about that.. We can't rely on the injuries and everything.
'Obviously, we want to have everyone back because we know that as many players we have available, the team will be stronger.
'But we have the players and we have enough experience and enough talent in the team to get through this moment.'
AFer18463985
0
he coached Bayern u21 and twente before he land the Ajax job
still zero
pueaiklnt
0
ever give up for united
Peabceimr
1
All these fans that are making noise about ETH, Pls recommend the best coach for Man U, I know many of you were shouting bring pochettino where is Chelsea now..?
zoulmoprtz
0
Erik Tag HAD should not give any excuss, his not qualify to be the coach of manchter untied , he has no strategies during when the match is going on , he don't change the playing style when the match is difficult. hiss player's most especially his midfielders and the defenders don't hold ball on their feet by controlling and making space on the field all because is not the instruction by the head coach or not stlyle of the head coach. Erik Tag HAD should be SACK
some of the players bought were not first choice
Ludaemnsz
0
Erik Tag HAD should not give any excuss, his not qualify to be the coach of manchter untied , he has no strategies during when the match is going on , he don't change the playing style when the match is difficult. hiss player's most especially his midfielders and the defenders don't hold ball on their feet by controlling and making space on the field all because is not the instruction by the head coach or not stlyle of the head coach. Erik Tag HAD should be SACK
NevetsyragKuriek
1
KARMA for Manutd...Manutd era is over...its time for ManCity and Arsenal😎
AdrianShion
0
this Baldy don't know anything outside ajax
he coached Bayern u21 and twente before he land the Ajax job
denadintuz
1
ETH can managed average team like Ajax. He cant do much for MU, it's just a daydream if keep faith on this guy
denadintuz
0
Man united is a big team with more followers world wide, so any loss has a negative impact on everyone.This is part of football and if you see team like Chelsea they also started bad and it is just normal.Ten hag will bounce back, let's exercise patience, injuries are also the reason.
No way ETH WILL BOUNCE BACK,YOU GIVE TIME, I WOUND NOT HAPPEN BECAUSE ETH NOT TO THE STANDARD OF PEP, MOURINHO OR TUSCHEL
denadintuz
0
Anthony will never justify his move to MU cause he is not goo3 enough to be MU player. MU have fork out big amount for this guy, which going to futile.
RaphaelChandiwira
0
Man united is a big team with more followers world wide, so any loss has a negative impact on everyone.This is part of football and if you see team like Chelsea they also started bad and it is just normal.Ten hag will bounce back, let's exercise patience, injuries are also the reason.
Well spoken, that's the difference between us (man united) and any other team in the world. We are the most supported team in the world. Out of 100 fans, 50 are United fans
Taknet
3
Man united is a big team with more followers world wide, so any loss has a negative impact on everyone.This is part of football and if you see team like Chelsea they also started bad and it is just normal.Ten hag will bounce back, let's exercise patience, injuries are also the reason.
AFer18463985
1
this Baldy don't know anything outside ajax