Newcastle United assistant Jason Tindall defends £44m Manchester United star after 'the worst' claim

Matic, who played 189 games for Manchester United between 2017 and 2022, branded Onana ‘one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's history,’ after the Cameroonian claimed his side were ‘way better’ than Lyon.

Manchester United and Lyon drew 2-2 in the Europa League on Thursday night with Onana debatably at fault for both goals for the home side. The goalkeeper was caught out by Thiago Almada’s free-kick delivery which found the bottom right corner of the goal before Rayan Cherki scored a stoppage-time equaliser, pouncing on a parry from the Man United stopper.

Next up for Manchester United is a trip to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off).

Andre Onana v Nemanja Matic

Ahead of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final, Onana said: “[Lyon] is a very good team. We know some of them but I don't think we have to focus on them. It's more about us, what we're going to do.

"I think we are better than them, we just have to go there and show who we are. If we go there with a winning mentality and we are focused, stay compact and together and we follow the game plan we will be winning the game.

"Of course, it's not going to be easy, but I think we are way better than them. We all know the importance of this game, we will go there with the winning mentality, it's not our best season but we still have something to win and we will go for it."

Onana’s suggestion Manchester United were ‘way better’ than Lyon did not go down well with Matic. When the comment was put to him in his pre-match press conference, the Serbian said: "To say that, you need to have cover for something like that.

“Onana [said that]? When you are one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United's history, you need to take care with what you're talking about. If [David] De Gea, or Peter Schmeichel or [Edwin] Van der Sar say that, I will question myself but when you are statistically one of the worst goalkeepers in United's modern history, you need to show up first before you say that."

Onana then hit back at Matic by posting a photo of himself celebrating Manchester United’s FA Cup win last season along with the comment: “I would never be disrespectful to another club. We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent.

“We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud. At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same.”

Although Matic won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup during his time at Chelsea, he didn’t win a major trophy in five seasons at Manchester United. Onana joined Manchester United from Inter Milan in 2023 for £44million, winning a trophy in his first season at the club.

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Jason Tindall disagrees with Nemanja Matic ahead of Newcastle United v Manchester United

Now Onana will come up against Newcastle at St James’ Park, a team who have won four of their last five meetings with Manchester United.

Ahead of the match, Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall was asked about Matic’s criticism of Onana and whether he felt it was warranted.

Tindall replied: “No, I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say at all. [Onana] is a top goalkeeper and, like every player on the football pitch, he makes mistakes. He is no different to anybody else.

“We are not looking at him that way. I have seen him have some top performances in goal for Man United. But I certainly would not agree with those comments myself.”

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