Everton: Danny Murphy destroys Amadou Onana live on talkSPORT after what he did v Fulham
Danny Murphy has slammed Amadou Onana after the Everton star missed his penalty in the Carabao Cup defeat against Fulham as he attempted to kid Bernd Leno.
The former Liverpool midfielder suggested the Belgian may have let nerves get to him which led to the “cocky” run-up and eventual save, but dismissed that as an excuse.
Onana almost skipped on approach to the ball before sliding a tame effort into Leno’s hands, something Murphy claimed you can get away with if you’re Neymar or Diego Maradona, but not Onana.
Speaking live on talkSPORT [20 December, 10:54], Murphy ranted: “Everton must be fuming because they had a chance to win it after the Pickford save and Onana’s penalty was a joke.
“If you give him the benefit of the doubt, sometimes you get a bit blase and cocky on penalties because the nerves take over, I’ve seen that before. I’m not sure that was it.
“It didn’t look like any prep had gone into those penalties. Some people say you can’t prep, I get the pressure and all that, I’ve been there, but you can prep the players who aren’t used to taking pens to stick with what they’re going to do.
“You can’t walk up to the ball like you’re Maradona or Neymar when you’re Onana, and when Everton have never won the League Cup. Just do something. Nice firm pass, laces, something.”
Just pick your spot and hit it
It’s pretty clear to see what Onana was trying to do. He wanted to force the goalkeeper into moving early with his stuttered run-up before sliding the ball into the opposite corner. All it took in the end was a body feint from Leno to ruin his plan.
The goalkeeper shifted his weight one way, which Onana noticed and rolled the ball in the opposite direction, allowing Leno to make the save with relative ease. There was no power, and hardly much accuracy no the strike which relied entirely on the goalkeeper going the wrong way.
In the situation Onana was in, a strong one for Everton and one which would have likely seen them win the tie and progress to the semi-final of the League Cup, you absolutely have to score.
Pick your spot, put your foot through the ball and make it so even if the keeper goes the right way he won’t get there. As Murphy said, the world’s best players and penalty-takers might get away with it, but if you’re not even a regular taker, what’s the need for the fancy nonsense?
In other Everton news, a BBC journalist has shared his “villain” verdict on one player.