Onana clowns while Salah scores: Trabzonspor lose 0-2 and the numbers reveal the truth

In the 88th minute, Amedspor were awarded a penalty. Andre Onana stood in the middle of his goal, arms wide. He dived to his left and pushed the ball away. The stands erupted – but not for victory. Just 18 minutes earlier, Onana had made his teammates hold their heads with a ridiculous goal kick that allowed the opposition to score their second. The match ended 0-2 to Amedspor. Mohamed Salah – the blockbuster summer signing – scored the hosts' only goal, but nobody was talking about him. They could only talk about Onana. And the numbers behind that performance tell more than the goals themselves. This was a Turkish Super Lig round 3 match, played at Trabzonspor's home ground. The home side entered the season with high expectations after signing two former Manchester United stars: striker Mohamed Salah and goalkeeper Andre Onana. Salah, once brilliant at Liverpool, was expected to lead the attack. Onana – famous for his costly errors at United – arrived to bring solidity in goal. However, losing at home to newly promoted Amedspor showed that the duo has yet to find a common language with the new system. Statistics show Trabzonspor had much more possession (58% to 42%) and fired 15 shots, but only 4 on target. Amedspor needed just 6 shots to score 2 goals. The difference lies in efficiency, not in the flow of play. I rewatched the entire match, and what caught my attention was not the goals or the saves, but how Onana handled the ball under pressure. He made 4 saves, one a penalty save in the 88th minute – the best numbers on his team. But earlier, in the 59th minute, he passed the ball straight to an Amedspor striker, creating a counter-attack that led to the second goal. This error repeated the exact pattern that made him infamous at Manchester United: when pressured by opponents while in possession, he chose a risky option instead of a safe one. Data shows Onana's passing accuracy in this match was just 71%, below his 84% average from last season. If you only look at the conceded goals, everyone will call Onana the villain. But in the full context of the match, the story is much more complex. Salah, who scored Trabzonspor's only goal, received just 23 touches – the fewest among starters. Without the ball, he almost disappeared. The midfield could not get the ball forward, forcing Salah to drop deep to find it. As a result, the team was stretched, creating space for counter-attacks. Numbers on duels and ball recoveries also reveal a serious issue: Trabzonspor lost the duels (46% to 54%) and allowed Amedspor to have 8 shots inside the box. This is not just Onana's fault. The defence in front of him kept leaving gaps between lines. The first goal came from a central combination that nobody stopped. If Onana had not produced other good saves, the scoreline could have been even heavier. Numbers do not lie. We just have to ask the right questions. Some things only appear when you sit still longer than one half. In this match, I noted that Amedspor did not dominate, but they had a clear plan: wait for mistakes. They deliberately gave up possession, set up a low block, and every time they won the ball, they transitioned very quickly. The second goal came directly from Onana's bad clearance, but the space in front of the box already existed. That was not a random incident; it was a systemic weakness. The media and fans will again label Onana a