Andre Onana put huge pressure on himself before Manchester United's Europa League clash with Lyon and when the game began, he caved in to it. Onana had become one of the main characters ahead of the quarter-final first leg by first declaring that the Red Devils were "way better" than the Ligue 1 outfit a few days earlier.
Nemanja Matic responded to his comments in the most brutal manner by labelling him "one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United's history" but Onana did not need to rise to it. He could have let his performance do the talking. Instead he came back with a spiky response about winning trophies and was ridiculed for it. After all, Matic had won two Premier League titles with Chelsea.
But the most ridiculous thing was Onana's performance at the Groupama Stadium. He feebly let Thiago Almada's free-kick, which was intended as a cross, slip past him. Paul Scholes rightly labelled it "a terrible goalkeeping error" and everyone on social media was saying the same thing: Matic was right.
It was the eighth error leading to a goal made by the Cameroonian in all competitions, more than any other goalkeeper in the Premier League since he joined United in 2023. But United responded well to the setback and looked to be on their way to a crucial victory thanks to headers from Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee. Lyon came back at them in the last minute though and Onana let United down again, pushing a central shot from Georges Mikautadze straight back into the danger zone and at the feet of the last person you would want it to fall to: Lyon talisman Rayan Cherki.
Now United must beat Lyon at Old Trafford next week to reach the Europa League semi-finals and keep their nightmare season alive, when a draw would have been enough had they been able to cling on. But the errors are likely to have bigger ramifications for United and Onana. How can the club continue with a goalkeeper who is so unreliable, who rival players are openly laughing about?
So after one of the lowest points of his already dismal United career, GOAL asks whether Matic is right and if Onana is indeed the worst goalkeeper United have had in the Premier League era....
