Amadou Onana hailed as a ‘supreme athlete’ for what he did for Everton v Manchester United
Amadou Onana played a crucial role in the opening goal at Goodison Park on Sunday evening as Everton faced Manchester United.
Onana has been a fantastic addition to Frank Lampard’s side since he swapped Lille for Liverpool in the summer transfer window.
The 21-year-old midfielder started for the Toffees during Sunday evening’s clash against Manchester United, and he made a major impact after just five minutes.
Onana stole the ball from Casemiro and found Alex Iwobi just outside the box, and his midfield teammate drilled the ball towards goal.
Manchester Evening News covered the match live, and lauded Onana as a “supreme athlete” for his role in the opening goal.
“Onana picked the pocket of Casemiro there and while the Brazilian is going to enjoy himself if he gets time on the ball tonight, that battle sums up where his issues might be,” wrote Tyrone Marshall via the MEN.
“Everton’s No. 8 is a supreme athlete and very mobile, as soon as the ball went into Casemiro’s feet there he was on him and managed to hook a leg around to steal the ball.”
A supreme player
Onana’s physical attributes are an obvious strong point, but the Belgian midfielder is just as gifted technically as he is physically.
Lampard deserves credit for the way he has settled him into the side, with Idrissa Gueye and Iwobi providing a great balance. With Gueye happy to sit back and Iwobi happy to cover plenty of ground, it frees up Onana to roam and pick up the ball – or even tackle in this case.
Casemiro is no easy opponent to tackle, but Onana’s presence was too much to handle for the former Real Madrid star. It shows just how far Everton’s midfield has progressed under Lampard that they are able to go toe-to-toe with most teams in the Premier League.
As for Iwobi, the Nigerian continued his great form since being converted to a midfielder and finished Onana’s pass with a fine strike past David de Gea.
Together as a trio, Everton seem to have found a perfect long-term combination. What’s more, they still have time to gel and improve.