Former Premier League goalkeeper reveals why Man United’s Andre Onana put vaseline on his gloves during Liverpool draw after fans were left baffled
A former Premier League goalkeeper has explained why Andre Onana may have put vaseline on his gloves during Manchester United’s draw with Liverpool on Sunday.
The clash between two of English football’s biggest names ended 2-2, denting the Reds’ title hopes, but many fans were left baffled when they saw Man United‘s Cameroonian keeper apply the substance.
While many believe that the slick properties of vaseline might be a disadvantage to shot-stoppers, one man who previously made his living between the sticks gave his thoughts behind the decision.
Mark Bosnich, who played for Man United, Aston Villa and Chelsea across two decades in the Premier League, spoke about the incident to Sky Sports News.
The Australian ex-keeper said: ‘He was outstanding in the first half, Onana. He’s had his ups and downs, there’s no doubt about that.
Andre Onana applied vaseline to his gloves during Manchester United’s draw with Liverpool
Ex-Premier League goalkeeper Mark Bosnich explained why he thought Onana had done that
‘With everything that’s going on on social media with the vaseline on the gloves, lucky for him, he was outstanding, because that would have been the punchline of many a joke everywhere around the world if one of the balls was slipping through.
‘The only thing that I can think of is that it helps his grip. A lot of goalkeepers like to have their gloves a little bit wet sometimes, because I think the grip that’s on it, the rubber, can be so stringy that it takes a bit of feeling out of the hands.
‘But the best person to ask is obviously the goalkeeper. The only thing I can think of is that he feels as though it makes his grip more comfortable.’
Onana made six important saves as Manchester United drew with title-chasing Liverpool, despite being completely outplayed during a dominant first-half display from Jurgen Klopp’s side.
He was also seen putting vaseline on his gloves during the game against West Ham in December – but it did not stop users on X (formerly Twitter) wondering why he was doing so during Sunday’s game.
The Cameroonian keeper was also seen applying vaseline during the game against West Ham
Onana made six crucial saves against Liverpool despite being outplayed in the first half
Manchester United dropped points from a winning position for a third straight game on Sunday, after being held by Brentford last weekend, and losing to Chelsea in midweek.
Next, Erik ten Hag’s side travel to Bournemouth on Saturday, eight days before their FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City at Wembley.
