Matic was right about Onana, but not enough

Andre Onana caused controversy when he exchanged words with Matic.

Man United will travel to France in the early morning of April 11 for the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals. Onana's previous remarks, implying that Manchester United are of a higher class than Lyon, made Matic uncomfortable.

“To say something, you need to have a basis,” Matic said in a press conference ahead of the match against United. “I respect everyone, but to say something like that... you need to prove it. When you are one of the worst goalkeepers in the history of Man United, you need to be careful with what you say.”

"If David de Gea, Peter Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar said that, I would question myself and take my words seriously. But if you (referring to Onana), statistically, are among the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history, then you need to show your performance on the pitch before speaking out. We will wait and see," Matic affirmed.

Lyon are currently fifth in Ligue 1, while Man United are only 13th in the Premier League. Matic, who played for Man United from 2017 to 2022, believes Onana should focus on his own performance before commenting on the level of the two clubs.

Onana later responded to Matic's comments on social network X (Twitter), noting that he had won the FA Cup at Wembley last year, while Matic had not won a trophy in five seasons at Old Trafford. The Cameroon goalkeeper insisted that he meant no disrespect to another club, but still took a jab at Matic.

“I never disrespect any club,” Onana wrote on his personal page. “We know it is a difficult match against a strong opponent. We focus on preparing to make the fans proud. At least I have lifted the trophy with the greatest club in the world . Some people can’t even lift the trophy (at Manchester United).”

Matic argued with Onana.

In fact, many will argue about who is the worst goalkeeper in Manchester United history. Massimo Taibi, Tomasz Kuszczak and many others have had scandalous times in the Manchester United goal.

However, Onana’s time at Man United can also be described as “controversial”. When he was at his best, Onana was the team’s “saviour”. But when he was not focused, the Cameroonian goalkeeper was as bad as Taibi or Kuszczak.

From being lobbed from 50m in his first friendly match for the team, to the constant mistakes over the years, Onana has never had the consistency of De Gea, Schmeichel or Edwin van der Sar - the people Matic talks about.

However, Onana does not deserve to be considered by Matic as the worst goalkeeper in MU history. Last season, Onana also had the highest save percentage in the Premier League.

If Matic’s point is that Onana is nowhere near the top goalkeepers United have had in the last 35 years, then the Lyon midfielder’s comments are entirely acceptable. However, Onana is also just the embodiment of the mess that has been going on at Old Trafford, stretching back to Matic’s time at the club.

Admire PSG's 3 masterpieces against Aston Villa. Early morning on April 10, Aston Villa suffered a 1-3 defeat to PSG in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Source: https://znews.vn/matic-da-dung-ve-onana-nhung-chua-du-post1544795.html