‘One of the worst goalkeepers in Man Utd history’: Nemanja Matic fires back at Andre Onana in brutal put-down

Onana had previously said that Man Utd are ‘way better’ than Europa League opponents Lyon

Matic hit back at Onana in a brutal put-down (Getty Images)

Nemanja Matic called Andre Onana “one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United” history in a brutal response to his eye-raising claim that Ruben Amorim’s side are “way better” than Lyon.

United travel to France on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final and Onana’s contentious remarks did not go unnoticed at Lyon, who are fifth in the Ligue 1 standings compared to United’s 13th position in the Premier League.

And Lyon midfielder Matic, who played for Manchester United between 2017 and 2022, was not impressed and told the goalkeeper that he should be more focused on his own performances before delivering such an assessment.

“To say that, you need to have cover for something like that,” Matic told a press conference ahead of facing his former team. “I respect everyone but to say that... you need to give an answer.

“When you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United history, you need to take care what you’re talking [about].

“If David de Gea or Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar said that then I would question myself.

“But if you are, statistically, one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United history then he needs to show that before he says. We will see.”

Matic spent five seasons with United after winning the Premier League with Chelsea (Getty Images)

Onana responded to Matic’s comments on Twitter/X, pointing out that while he won last year’s FA Cup at Wembley, Matic did not win a trophy in his five years at Old Trafford.

The Cameroon international said he did not want to be “disrespectful” to another club but that did not stop the goalkeeper from adding fire to the flames ahead of Thursday’s match.

“I would never be disrespectful to another club,” Onana posted. “We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent.

“We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud. At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same.”

Onana said Man Utd are aiming to win the Europa League this season (PA Wire)

Onana had told reporters following United’s 0-0 draw with Manchester City on Sunday that, while he thought Lyon are a good team, United are better.

“We all know the importance of this game, so we will go there with a winning mentality,” Onana said.

“It’s not our best season but we still have something big to win, so we will go for it.

“It’s a very good team, we know some of them, but I don’t think we have to focus about them. It’s more about us, what we’re going to do.

“I think we are better than them, we just have to go there and show who we are.

“If we go there with a winning mentality and we are focused, we stay compact, together and we follow the game plan, we will be winning the game.

“Of course, it’s not going to be easy, but I think we are way better than them.”