Football fans have criticised Amadou Onana for taking ‘one of the worst penalties ever’ on Tuesday night as Everton agonisingly crashed out of the EFL Cup suffering defeat to Fulham on penalties.
The Toffees had made a spirited come back at Goodison Park after Michael Keane scored an own goal to see the visitors go 1-0 up. Beto would score in the 82nd minute of the match to take the game to penalties.
Everton took the advantage in the shootout, with Jordan Pickford saving Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s spot-kick, giving Onana the chance to send his side into the semi-finals of the tournament. But his tame effort was saved by Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno giving the visitors a lifeline.
Idrissa Gana Gueye would go on to hit the post, with former Everton man Antonee Robinson and Tosin Adarabioyo both scoring the final two penalties for Fulham and win the shootout 7-6.
It was a tough moment for Onana, who appeared to hop twice during his run up before side-footing a low shot to the right side of the goal.
Everton midfielder Amadou Onana has been criticised by fans online for a penalty he took during their defeat by Fulham in the EFL Cup on Tuesday
The Blues crashed out of the tournament on penalties, with some blasting Onana for his weak attempt that was saved by Bernd Leno
And his attempt has drawn criticism from fans online, with some claiming he should have picked a corner and blasted the ball into the back of the net.
‘Amadou Onana with the chance to win the game… And hits one of the worst penalties I’ve seen for some time and costs us the chance to advance. What an absolute joke. Pick a corner and stop this nonsense hop and a skip run ups,’ one Everton fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Another added: ‘Onana was an arrogant p**** for that penalty. He’s not a team player, he’s a big headed t***.’
‘No body else’s fault but Amadou Onana’s. Point the finger at him. Put your ego aside and bury it. Shocking, droppable offence that,’ another wrote.
Another said: ‘Seen some s**** in the last 36 years at Goodison, but that penalty from Onana was probably the worst ever.’
The 22-year-old looked visibly distraught after the penalty and according to The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland, he was ‘one of the last players off the pitch, applauding fans and holding his hand up apologetically.’
Despite that, many fans took to social media to throw their support behind the young midfielder who joined the Merseyside outfit for £34million in 2022 from Lille.
Fans took to Twitter to crtiticise the midfielder with some claiming he should have ‘put his ego aside and buried the penalty’
‘Amadou Onana is a Rolls Royce player, bad judgement from the spot in a high pressure situation which has devastated a lot of fans, don’t get me wrong. As good of a chance as any to win something. But you have to support players through the good and the bad. This is a bad one for him,’ one wrote.
‘OK so we are all gutted we are out of the cup. It’s not like the lad didn’t want to score, let’s get behind him and support our team @amadou_onana and give him our love and support,’ one said.
Another added: ‘The Amadou Onana penalty is awful, it’s abysmal but he’s a a young lad and he will learn. Was way too confident taking that penalty and the way he takes it shows that. Needs to put it behind him and continue with the good form that he has been on. Just a poor decision tonight.’
According to The Athletic’s Patrick Boyland, Onana held his hands up ‘apologetically’ to the home fans after the match
Other fans showed their support to the 22-year-old midfielder claiming that ‘he needs to put it behind him’
While Everton’s wait for their first piece of silverware since 1995 will continue, Sean Dyche delivered his verdict on the Belgian midfielder’s penalty after the match.
‘If you are brave enough to get up there and take one, you are brave enough to take the consequences,’ the Everton boss said during his post-match press conference. ‘We practise them, they practise them, [coach] Steve Stone did a good job getting it all organised so you do everything you can.
‘It is a cup competition. We took the game on, tried everything to take the game. Similar to how we played them in the league, dominated and couldn’t find the killer moments. The stadium was great, the fans and everyone took the knocks and got on with it.
‘Everyone has got a style of a penalty they think can score. His record has been very strong in all of the rounds we’ve practiced them. That’s his style.’
