Prior to Thursday’s first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal, Onana’s audacious assertion that United was “way better” than Lyon set off a verbal sparring match with Matic.
During his pre-game press conference on Wednesday, Matic, who played for Old Trafford for five years, ruthlessly retaliated on Onana.
“If you’re one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s history then you need to take care of what you are talking about,” Matic stated.
I would doubt myself if David De Gea, Peter Schmeichel, or Edwin van der Sar stated it, but if you are statistically among the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s recent history, let him prove it first.
Onana, who won the FA Cup in his first season at United after arriving from Inter Milan for about £47m, was ready to respond with a stinging statement about Matic’s lack of trophy at Old Trafford.
We are aware that playing [Thursday] against a formidable opponent will be challenging. Making our supporters proud is our first priority when it comes to performance preparation.
“At least I’ve won trophies with the world’s best club. Others are unable to say the same.
Matic, who was signed by Jose Mourinho in 2017 for £40 million, did, in fact, spend five trophyless years at Old Trafford. He also played for teams that finished second in the Premier League in 2017–18 under Mourinho and in 2020–21 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Onana, on the other hand, started as United’s goalkeeper for their FA Cup victory over Man City under Erik ten Hag. The team finished eighth in Onana’s first season, which was their lowest finish in the Premier League era, and that record is in danger of being surpassed again, as they are currently in 13th place with seven games remaining.
After maintaining his ninth Premier League clean sheet of the season in Sunday’s dull derby draw with Manchester City, Onana was in a confident mood when he addressed the media.
He responded, “It’s a very good team,” when asked about Lyon prior to Thursday’s opening leg of the quarterfinal. I don’t think we need to concentrate on them, even though we are aware of some of them. What we’re going to do is more important.
“I believe we are superior to them; all we need to do is go there and prove ourselves. We will win the game if we approach it with a winning mindset, remain focused, remain small and cohesive, and adhere to the game plan.
It won’t be simple, of course, but I believe we are far superior than them. Even though it’s not our finest season, we still have something to win, so we’ll go into this game with a winning mentality. We all understand how important this game is.
