Nemanja Matic is right about Andre Onana – but he is far from Man United’s biggest problem | OneFootball

If nothing else, it was good news for Massimo Taibi. Or maybe it wasn’t, as it prompted memories of his ill-fated, and ignominiously brief, spell in the Manchester United goal. The Italian has tended to be the byword for bad United keepers.

He may have company. At least in the eyes of Nemanja Matic – whose time as a teammate of Thibaut Courtois, Petr Cech and David de Gea could give him an insight into goalkeeping – whose presence in the Lyon midfield already added spice to Thursday’s reunion with United and who took issue with Onana’s undiplomatic assertion the English club are “way better” than their French hosts.

“If you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United’s history you need to take care what you are talking,” said Matic. If there may have been some loyalty to De Gea, his former colleague who Erik ten Hag discarded to make way for Onana, the Serb’s damning appraisal was also notable because of who he is: a popular and respected figure wherever he has been, with a command of several languages and not invariably controversial in his comments.

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Andre Onana and Nemanja Matic traded barbs ahead of the Europa League quarter-final (PA)

Ruben Amorim argued Matic erred by not reading Onana in full before reacting. “If you see the full quote of Andre Onana, it is quite different. You cannot see disrespect there, just respect. The first sentence is that 'Lyon is a very, very good team',” said the United head coach. “It is just a misunderstanding. I know [Nemanja] Matic also, he is a great guy. I just think he has heard things by half. Tomorrow is going to be a normal game."

It won’t be now, though. If Matic’s intention was to apply pressure on an erratic goalkeeper in a Europa League quarter-final, he succeeded. Onana has not seemed the biggest issue at Old Trafford of late – there is plenty of competition for that – and with a limited transfer budget and plenty of other priorities, there has not been the sense a goalkeeper will top the summer shopping list.

And yet his time at United could be described as mixed. His best has been brilliant, his worst terrible. From getting lobbed from 50 yards in a pre-season friendly to somehow not conceding a penalty on his competitive debut when he punched Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic instead of the ball, he made an inauspicious start. It is now almost three months since his last howler, allowing Georginio Rutter to score at Brighton, but it will take longer for the Cameroonian to get a reputation for reliability.

Europe has a pertinence, too. Onana was scarcely exceptional in his lone season in Serie A with Internazionale, but he was terrific in the Champions League, helping them to reach the final. Switching clubs, he promptly made a colossal contribution to United’s elimination from it, a penalty save against FC Copenhagen outweighed by blunders.

He finished last season with, according to fbref, the highest save percentage in the Premier League. They probably weren’t the numbers Matic was referencing when 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 one of the statistically worst goalkeepers in Man United’s modern history then he needs to show that before he says.”

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Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana’s mistake led to Brighton’s third goal (Martin Rickett/PA). (PA Wire)

Other numbers reflect badly on the current United player. Onana has made three mistakes leading to Premier League goals this season; only four players have made more. De Gea touched the heights at his best, winning United’s player-of-the-year award four times in five years. Over his last four campaigns in Manchester, however, he was more error-prone. Their last Europa League quarter-final, against Sevilla in 2023, brought a defeat that was partly attributable to him.

But if Matic’s broader point was that Onana has some way to go to enter the pantheon of the premier United keepers of the last 35 years, Onana felt unwise in biting back. “At least I’ve lifted some trophies with the greatest club in the world,” he wrote on social media. “Some can’t say the same.” By some trophies, Onana actually means one, last season’s FA Cup. Matic’s own medal collection is quite impressive, albeit more from his time at Chelsea and Benfica.

There is less need to re-litigate his part in United’s past. Onana seems central in the present and the future. Matic’s verdict may be harsh but it is hard to brand the goalkeeper’s time at United a success. He cost £47m – all the odder as they could have got him for free a year earlier – and is in a team in the club’s worst league season for decades. Matic may have been referencing that. But if United need to win the Europa League to prove this isn’t a season of dramatic decline, now Onana may need glory to win over a high-profile critic.