Lyon star Rayan Cherki assessed the 2-2 draw between the French side and Manchester United while sending a cheeky dig at goalkeeper André Onana.
Manchester United are set to host French side Lyon at Old Trafford next Thursday following a 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Groupama Stadium.
Ruben Amorim’s team delivered a strong performance and arguably deserved to return to England with an advantage.
However, two costly mistakes from André Onana gifted Lyon both of their goals, nullifying strikes from Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee.
The second error, in particular — where Onana parried the ball directly into the path of Rayan Cherki — came in the dying moments of the match, dealing a cruel blow to Amorim’s side.
While United’s head coach publicly defended his goalkeeper post-match, there’s little doubt he’ll be furious with the Cameroonian’s performance in private.
Cherki sends brutal dig to Onana
Cherki, who has been linked with United in recent weeks, produced a solid performance against Amorim’s men on Thursday night and was the quickest to react to Onana’s last-minute howler.
The French youth international played on the right-wing. While he wasn’t hugely involved in the game, the 21-year-old created some danger for United when he did get on the ball.
Speaking after the game to the media, Cherki provided an assessment on the game and assured that Lyon will go to Old Trafford and “attack” the second-leg next week.
He also sent a brutal dig to Onana with his comments. The United goalkeeper caused a stir before the game because he said his team were “way better” than Lyon.
“We were much better than them,” Cherki began when speaking about the game, an obvious dig towards the Cameroon international’s pre-match claim.
“We know they are a good team, but we have never been afraid of them and we will never be afraid of them,” continued the Lyon star. “In the second leg we will go there to attack.”
United did not need the extra bite in Lyon clash
United’s biggest game of the season didn’t really need that extra bite but that is exactly what Onana gave Lyon with his comments.
His performance only made things worse and it seems like Amorim could be forced into changing goalkeepers, with Altay Bayındır back fit and available.
Meanwhile, Cherki would have likely impressed those at Old Trafford with his performance and it would be no surprise to see the rumours surrounding his name intensify as the summer window comes closer.
Hopefully, he will not have as much of an impact in the second-leg and United can move into the semi-final of the Europa League, but it certainly will not be easy.
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