Nemanja Matic has cranked up the heat ahead of the crucial European clash between Manchester United and Olympique Lyonnais by brutally labelling Andre Onana as “one of the worst goalkeepers” in the club’s history.
The Red Devils travel to France tomorrow to face off against Lyon in the first-leg of the Europa League quarter final with the competition representing the last chance of success in an otherwise dismal season at Old Trafford.
United are currently languished in 13th in the Premier League table with no practical hopes of European football next season, despite qualification not necessarily being a mathematical impossibility yet.
Success in the Europa League, however, would gift Ruben Amorim’s side first-seed entry into next year’s Champions League and provide a huge economic boost to United’s strained financial situation.
It cannot be understated how important both of these rewards would be to help the Portuguese coach to continue to overhaul the first-team squad at Old Trafford, which requires significant investment in the summer in a number of positions.
Ahead of Thursday night’s showdown at the Groupama Stadium, Onana revealed he believes United are a “way better team” than the French side, despite Lyon being positioned 5th in Ligue 1 and the Reds in the bottom of the Premier League.
Matic, who played for United from 2017 until 2022, took exception to this assessment, however, launching a scathing response to the Cameroonian international in a press-conference today.
The Serbian midfielder stated: “Onana said they’re way better than us? When you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United history, you need to take care what you’re talking about. If it was Van der Sar, Schmeichel or de Gea saying that, ok… but Onana, he’s one of the worst”.
🗣️ “If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man Utd history, you need to take care”
Nemanja Matić has hit back at Andre Onana after the United keeper said that they are “way better” than their Europa League opponents Lyon 🔴 pic.twitter.com/jYDWgyprVG
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 9, 2025
It constitutes a rather remarkable escalation of words, offering almost a throwback to a previous era, far removed from the sanitised and carefully mediated culture of modern football.
There are likely to be many United fans who would find themselves agreeing with Matic’s assessment given the wildly inconsistent displays Onana has produced since arriving at Old Trafford in 2023.
The best response the 29-year-old shot stopper can deliver is to let his hands (and feet) do the talking against Lyon by helping his side put Lyon to the sword by the half-way point of the tie.
Whether Onana is able to offer this type of performance in United’s biggest game of the season so far remains to be seen. Matic is evidently certain he will not be able to do so and will be banking on the Reds’ goalkeeper producing a trademark howler to give the French side the advantage.
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
