Manchester United reached the Europa League final in 2024-25 but it wasn't always a smooth ride.
Andre Onana ensured that the pressure was on the Red Devils with a comment he made about opponents Lyon ahead of the quarter-final.
Nemanja Matic on his exchange of words with Andre Onana
Former United midfielder Nemanja Matic was set to line up against his former club for Lyon and took the opportunity to respond when he was up for pre-match media duty.
Having played more than 150 times with David De Gea behind him, Matic wasn't shy about reminding Onana of his shortcomings by comparison.
"I said what I said before the game, just because he was a bit arrogant," Matic tells FourFourTwo.
"He said, ‘We’re way better than Lyon.’ I don’t think you say that before a quarter-final in the Europa League.
"I wanted to put more pressure on him with my answer, and he made that mistake. I don’t know if our second goal was his mistake or a half-mistake.
"He’s a great goalkeeper – he had a good couple of years at Ajax, and at Inter.
"He could have done better at United, but in the circumstances at the club, there was too much pressure on him. If you ask me now though, I don’t think he’s a bad guy."
As it turned out, the quarter-final tie was a classic. Onana was at fault for the first goal but there were 13 in total and five of them were scored in an extraordinary period of extra time after both legs had ended 2-2.
Lyon went two goals in front in extra time at Old Trafford but goals from Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire made for a barely believable conclusion and took the Red Devils into the last four.
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