"Not the whole story" - Man United boss Ruben Amorim weighs in on Andre Onana and Nemanja Matic spat

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim believes that former Red Devils midfielder Nemanja Matic “misinterpreted” comments from Andre Onana as the sides prepare to clash in the Europa League quarter finals on Wednesday night.

After two entertaining nights of Champions League action across Europe, attention now turns to the Europa League with the Red Devils in France for the first leg of their last eight tie. Ruben Amorim’s side are unbeaten in Europe this season after five wins and three draws in the league phase while they drew 1-1 with Real Sociedad in the round of 16 before a 4-1 win over the Spanish side in the second leg.

Lyon have lost just once in their 10 European outings, as they reached the quarter finals with a 7-1 aggregate win over FCSB. Ahead of the clash, Onana claimed that Lyon were a very good team but that the Red Devils “are way better than them”.

Matic responds as Onana bites back again

Matic spent five years with the Red Devils after joining the club from Premier League rivals Chelsea. He has been with Lyon since last summer. Responding to Onana’s comments he branded the goalkeeper as “one of the worst” in United’s modern history.

Those comments promoted a further response from Onana, who said on X: "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."

Onana joined United last summer and has come in for criticism for some of the errors he has made. He did help the Red Devils lift the FA Cup last season while Matic never won a trophy during his time at Old Trafford. He is a two-time Premier League winner with Chelsea, however, and has also won the FA Cup and EFL Cup with the Blues.

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Ruben Amorim says spat between Onana and Matic is an misunderstanding

Ahead of the game, United boss Amorim played down the back and forth between the pair. He said: "Tomorrow it will not matter [what was said pre-match]. I think if you see the full quotes of Andre Onana, it's quite different. The first sentence is Lyon is a very good team. I think sometimes the players and the coaches don't listen to the full quotes and sometimes it's a misunderstanding. I know Matic also, and he's a great guy. So tomorrow is going to be a normal game.

"If you look to all the quotes, you cannot see the disrespect there, just respect, but trying to show and give confidence to his team, especially in this year. Everyone can talk bad things about Manchester United. Sometimes our group, as players, as a coaching staff, has to show confidence in our team. So I think that's all. Again, I know really well Nemanja Matic, and how good a guy he is. So he hears some things but half, not the whole story. That for me is clear in this situation."