Paul Scholes has opened up on his pre-match interaction with Nemanja Matic after the former Man United midfielder clashed with Andre Onana last week.
United were taking on Lyon in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie at Old Trafford on Thursday night, with the scores level at 2-2 after a dramatic first leg.
In the build-up to that clash in France, Onana had been involved in a war of words with former United – and now Lyon – midfielder Matic.
Matic had taken exception to Onana claiming Lyon are a ‘very good team’ but that ‘I think we are better than them’, branding the shot-stopper ‘one of the worst goalkeepers in Man United history’.
Onana’s words came back to haunt him as he made mistakes for both Lyon goals and he was jeered by the French side’s supporters throughout the game.
And, ahead of the second leg of the tie, Scholes – who faced Matic during his own career – was seen interacting with the Serb on the pitch at Old Trafford.
Paul Scholes has opened up on his interaction with former Man United star Nemanja Matic
Matic called Andre Onana the ‘worst goalkeeper in Man United’s history’ amid a spat last week
Onana had aimed a dig at Lyon, but subsequently made two disastrous errors in the 2-2 draw
Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage of the clash, when explaining the encounter Scholes said: ‘I just told him to leave our goalkeeper alone… but no that was it.
‘He was some player Matic, he looks well. Obviously I played against him quite a few times, me and Rio when he was at Chelsea.
‘He was just saying he’s nearly 37, he’s got another year left. He looks fit, he looks strong, but hopefully he doesn’t have a good night tonight.’
In the run-up to the first leg, Onana’s war of words with Matic had continued when he posted on social media: ‘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.’
Scholes’ interaction with Matic on Thursday came after he had also weighed in on the war of words last week.
The United legend was critical of Onana and claimed the Cameroonian stopper would be regretting his pre-match actions.
Scholes said that he had told Matic to leave Onana alone and joked he hoped he had a bad night
Onana was at fault for Lyon’s first goal in the first leg when he failed to deal with a free kick
Rayan Cherki then tapped home after the keeper made another error in the 95th minute
‘He is probably wishing he kept his mouth shut, it (the first goal) is a really bad mistake,’ he said. ‘Decent ball in, he gets across the front post, Yoro plays him on.
‘I’m not sure what the keeper is trying to do, the ball bounces right in front of him, it’s an awful mistake.’
On the second error, he called for Onana to have softer hands, while suggesting United may need to go into the market for a new goalkeeper in the summer.
Scholes added: ‘A goalkeeper is something to think of, but, budget wise, where are the priorities? Can they get away with it? A goalkeeper is a very important part of a team but he has not been quite good enough, maybe he needs some competition.
‘It will come down to money. He might think he needs forwards and midfielders and try and survive with it.
‘He is capable… at Inter he was good, he was good with his feet and that hasn’t quite happened. It hasn’t been great. [There are] a lot of problems for Amorim and he knows that.’
