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LONDON: Andre Onana faces the defining match of his Manchester United career against Lyon in the Europa League on Friday morning as the English giants battle to revive their season.

The Cameroon international goalkeeper was the talk of the town ahead of the first leg of the quarter-final in France, which ended in a 2-2 draw, boldly claiming United were “much better” than their opponents.

It drew a backlash from former United midfielder Nemanja Matic, now at Lyon, who labelled him “one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s history.”

Onana was booed and jeered by fans in France and his words were self-defeating when he was blamed for both of United’s goals.

United manager Ruben Amorim dropped him for the trip to Newcastle on Sunday, bringing on backup goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, but they lost 4-1 with the Turkey international blamed for the fourth goal.

Amorim now faces a decision that could determine their season – will he re-list Onana or choose Bayindir again?

The stakes are high. Defeat at Old Trafford would effectively end United’s season, with nothing left to do in the Premier League.

A victory would allow them to continue their dream of winning the Europa League, which is a passport to play in the Champions League next season.

United, managed by Erik ten Hag at the time, paid around £47 million to sign Onana from Inter Milan in 2023 as a replacement for David de Gea.

Ten Hag, who previously worked with the goalkeeper at Ajax, spoke about his skills with the ball.

The 29-year-old has shown glimpses of his prowess at Old Trafford and has repeatedly shown his ability with the ball at his feet.

But he was inconsistent and developed a reputation as a ‘disaster goalkeeper’.

NEWCASTLE, England: Manchester United suffered their 14th Premier League defeat of the season – equalling their highest number of defeats in a single campaign since 1989-90 – after falling 4-1 at Newcastle United early this morning.

Despite the absence of ill manager Eddie Howe, Newcastle brightened their chances of securing a place in next season’s Champions League as they secured fourth place with 56 points.

While Howe was hospitalized with an illness, Newcastle had not lost their momentum of late and took the lead in the 24th minute through Sandro Tonali’s stunning volley.

The visitors hit back, scoring a stunning goal following a quick counterattack, finished by Argentine striker Alejandro Garnacho in the 37th minute, but Harvey Barnes put Newcastle back in front early in the second half.

Barnes added a third in the 64th minute, before a mistake by visiting goalkeeper Altay Bayindir allowed Bruno Guimaraes to score a fourth late on to lift Newcastle above Manchester City in the table, while Manchester United slipped to 14th.

“We know it’s been a tough season, there’s nothing more to say,” Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes told Sky Sports.

“Our position in the league table is not where it should be, but unfortunately we didn’t get the results we wanted.

“We need to get on with life because we have a big game coming up, we need to calm down and face it.”

Newcastle came into the match eyeing the chance to secure a league double over their opponents for the first time since 1930-31.

“Eddie and I have worked together for 17 years and in that time he has never missed more than a day or two, so he may find it difficult to miss this week,” Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall told the BBC.

“We went out and put on a performance that he would be proud of. Hopefully he will be back as soon as possible.”

BRIGHTON, England: Marcus Rashford scored his first goal for Aston Villa in the English Premier League in a comfortable 3-0 win over Brighton early this morning, which saw the visitors leapfrog the hosts in the table.

Villa jumped to seventh place with 48 points, one point behind Chelsea who host Tottenham Hotspur early tomorrow morning, while Brighton are one point behind in eighth place.

With the title race and the fight to avoid relegation already decided, qualification for Europe is still on the cards for Villa, who are playing their first league match since March 8.

“We know this is an important game for us, it’s a must-win,” Villa defender Ezri Konsa told Sky Sports.

“We came to win and that’s what we did. The Champions League is the main target.”

Since their last league outing, Villa have reached the Champions League quarter-finals and the FA Cup semi-finals, with Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Preston North End on Sunday.

Rashford, who was not needed at United, opened the scoring six minutes after the break.

Morgan Rogers played a long pass and Rashford reacted calmly, touching the ball once before firing past opposing goalkeeper Bert Verbruggen from outside the penalty area.

“He seems to be smiling again. He now seems to be enjoying football again,” Konsa said.

LISBON: Portugal beat Denmark 5-3 on aggregate to reach the Nations League semi-finals early on Tuesday, winning a thrilling second-leg quarter-final 5-2 after extra time.

Portugal will face finals hosts Germany in the semi-finals next June after overcoming a 0-1 deficit after Denmark won the first leg last week.

Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but then scored a crucial goal, before two late goals from Francisco Trincao helped Roberto Martinez’s men into the semi-finals.

Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel stared down Ronaldo’s run to save a penalty in the sixth minute, darting to his left and easily catching the ball.

But Portugal eventually forced the match into extra time after leading 3-2, even though Denmark twice led on aggregate.

Portugal first equalised on aggregate when Joachim Andersen accidentally scored an own goal in the 38th minute.

But when unmarked at the corner kick, Rasmus Kristensen’s calm header put Denmark back in front on aggregate after 56 minutes.

Ronaldo made up for his penalty mistake, tapping in a rebound to score with 18 minutes remaining, but Christian Eriksen then silenced the home crowd by tapping in an open goal four minutes later.

Playing at their home ground of Sporting Lisbon Stadium, substitute winger Trincao then forced extra time with a left-footed goal.

Immediately after the match resumed, he scored a second goal in a chaotic situation to give Portugal the advantage.

Trincao was then involved in Goncalo Ramos’s decisive goal move.

Winners of the inaugural tournament in 2019, Portugal are aiming to become the first team to lift the Nations League trophy for a second time.

MANCHESTER: Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has been urged by former Chelsea player Joe Cole to leave Old Trafford in search of more trophies.

Fernandes has scored 16 goals and provided 15 assists for United this season, despite it being one of the worst campaigns in the club’s history.

The 30-year-old scored a hat-trick against Real Sociedad to help Man United reach the Europa League quarter-finals.

The Portuguese star was, however, criticized by former Red Devils captain Roy Keane who questioned his authority as United’s captain.

Cole said Fernandes must be disappointed to be criticized despite his excellent performances for United and he needs to find a team capable of delivering trophies.

Fernandes scored 95 goals and 81 assists in 277 appearances for Man United.

“If I were Bruno Fernandes, I would leave Manchester United. He must be wondering why everyone is criticising him when he is the one working hard to help the team.

“There are other players who have stood out, but it is Bruno who has been seen working hard to save the team in these difficult times. If Bruno leaves United and the club returns to the top, they will look back on this era and only Bruno Fernandes shines.

“He’s a great footballer who could join any team, but I don’t think he’s ever won a league in his career. So he needs to join a team that can win trophies because he’s tried his luck with Man United,” said Cole.

Since joining Man United in 2020, Fernandes has only lifted the League Cup trophy in 2023 and the FA Cup last May.

During Fernandes’ time at Old Trafford, his best achievement in the Premier League was runner-up finish in 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, despite trailing champions Man City by 12 points.

Last season they finished eighth and are now in the bottom group of the league with only nine games remaining.