Topics: Lyon, Man Utd, Manchester United, Andre Onana, Nemanja Matic
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana flapped at a Thiago Almada free kick to put Lyon 1-0 up in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Onana ignited a bitter war of words with Lyon's former Man Utd midfielder Nemanja Matic, who started the game on the bench, by proclaiming that the Red Devils are "way better" and would win the tie if they played to their best.
Matic responded in his pre-match press conference, labeling Onana as "one of the worst goalkeepers of Man Utd history".
25 minutes into the tie, Almada's in-swinging free kick evaded everyone in the penalty area and Onana – targeted by boos and taunts from the Lyon fans throughout the opening minutes – mis-timed his attempt to push the ball wide, diverting it into the roof of the net instead.
The Man Utd goalkeeper was criticised by Matic, who questioned the wisdom of his words given United's season and his own performances between the posts.
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"I respect everyone but to say that then you need to get the answer. If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man Utd history, you need to take care what you’re talking about," he said.
"If David De Gea or Peter Schmeichel or [Edwin] Van der Sar said that, then I will question myself. But if you are statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United modern history, then, you know, he needs to show that before he says [it] so we will see."
Matic looked on from the bench as Onana fluffed Almada's free kick and again as United's Lenny Yoro reacted quickly to guide the ball past Onana's opposite number, Lucas Perri, and make it 1-1 in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time.
United legend Paul Scholes, on punditry duty for TNT Sports alongside Jules Breach and Karen Carney gave a stinging analysis at half time.
"He's probably wishing he'd kept his mouth shut before the game, I would have thought," said Scholes.
"I'm not sure what he's trying to do. It's an awful mistake from him."
The TNT team agreed that Perri had also made a big mistake for Man Utd's equalising goal.
