It’s clear why Erik ten Hag wanted Andre Onana after Man United’s new £47m man made two smart saves and showed confidence on the ball against Real Madrid

Houston’s NRG Stadium was the venue for Ederson’s debut for Manchester City in 2017 when the Brazil goalkeeper got off to a shaky start on his debut against Manchester United.

Ederson unwisely raced out of his goal in Texas that night to challenge Romelu Lukaku near the touchline, and the United striker got there first to score in an empty net from a tight angle.

It was an embarrassing start for Ederson and Pep Guardiola, not least because the City boss had brought in the Brazilian for his ability to command his box and play with the ball at his feet after bombing out Joe Hart.

It’s fair to say, the move hasn’t worked out too badly for Ederson and Guardiola having won 14 trophies together at the Etihad.

By comparison, Andre Onana conceding a goal little more than five minutes into his Manchester United debut at the same stadium against Real Madrid on Wednesday night wasn’t quite on the same scale.

Andre Onana conceded twice on his Manchester United debut but performed promisingly in a boost for Erik ten Hag (R)

True, it wasn’t the start Onana would have wanted, but he couldn’t be faulted after Jude Bellingham showed wonderful skill to control Antonio Rudiger’s pass and dink the ball over the Cameron keeper who had raced off his line to block.

Nor could Onana have stopped Real’s second goal in the dying minutes when he was beaten by a close range scissor kick from Joselu.

In between, he made two smart saves from Vinicius Junior and Joselu to keep United in the game.

There was probably more interest in the keeper’s ability with the ball at his feet, after United paid Inter Milan £47.1million to sign him having decided that David de Gea couldn’t give manager Erik ten Hag what he wanted in that department.

Onana certainly didn’t disappoint on his debut after just a week of training with his new teammates. He looked more than comfortable on the ball and completed 22 passes in the first half alone, only three of which went long.

He came out of his goal on numerous occasions and stood midway inside his own half. At one point, he was more advanced than Raphael Varane, taking a pass from the United centre-back before linking up play.

Jude Bellingham opened the scoring after six minutes with a well-controlled chip 

Joselu completed Madrid’s 2-0 victory in the dying minutes with a stunning overhead kick

Afterwards, Ten Hag expressed satisfaction with the way Onana had become United’s 11th outfield player but admitted that there are limits to how many risks his former Ajax keeper will be allowed to take.

‘Definitely there are principles but he’s a keeper who can be used as a plus one in the back, so we definitely will put that in our strategy and tactics,’ said Ten Hag.

‘This is the first game and we have a lot of work to do. There are rules we have to follow and they will come quick that we integrate into our way of play.

‘I think he was good. Solid. Two very good saves, so he was there in the moment the team needed him. He did his job and integrated well in our team.’

No doubt there are some anxious moments ahead, but Ten Hag will feel that he is going in the right direction.

Ten Hag said Onana played as an 11th outfield player but that there will be a limit on risk-taking

Ederson (R) had an embarrassing start to life at Man City in 2017 and has now won 14 trophies