Leny Yoro struggles to hide his frustration with Andre Onana after Lyon display – as he says Man United keeper’s late blunder came at ‘worst moment’

Leny Yoro expressed his frustration after Man United conceded a 95th minute equaliser against Lyon in the Europa League.

The Red Devils took on the French side in the first leg of their quarter-final tie on Thursday night, with Yoro cancelling out Thiago Almada’s opener which came following an Andre Onana error.

Joshua Zirkzee’s 88th minute strike looked to have secured a vital victory for Ruben Amorim’s side heading into next week’s second leg, but Rayan Cherki tapped home a last-gasp goal after Onana spilled Georges Mikautadze’s shot.

Onana’s disastrous game came after he had been involved in a war of words with former Man United – and now Lyon – midfielder Nemanja Matic in the build-up to the clash.

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’.

And, following Onana’s performance, Yoro was left struggling to hide his frustration, particularly with the second error. 

Rayan Cherki tapped home after Andre Onana made an error in the 95th minute of the game

Onana had also been at fault for Lyon’s first goal when he failed to deal with a free kick

‘I think this is the worst moment to concede a goal like that,’ he told TNT Sports. 

‘We were winning 2-1, I think away this was a good score but we go with a draw and we try to win the game at home. 

‘We defended really well but they are a good team, [have] a good striker, so we need to be ready for everything but unfortunately we concede the goal.’

In the run-up to the game, 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.’

And Paul Scholes, speaking on TNT Sports, was critical of Onana and claimed that the Cameroonian stopper would be regretting his pre-match actions.

‘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.’

Onana was involved in a war of words with former United man Nemanja Matic ahead of kick off

Yoro admitted that Onana’s second error came at the ‘worst moment’ for Ruben Amorim’s side

However, the United boss refused to criticise Onana and reaffirmed his belief in the keeper

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.

‘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.’

However, Amorim refused to criticise Onana following the game and reaffirmed his belief in him.

‘If you look at the season I’ve made more mistakes than them during these last games and during these last months,’ he said.

‘There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him, so the most important thing is to be natural and then when the time comes I will choose the best XI to play. But I’m really confident in Andre.’

Meanwhile, Yoro’s first half equaliser was his first goal for United since his £52million summer move from Lille and he admitted the achievement was yet to sink in. 

‘I didn’t enjoy too much,’ he added. ‘No celebration because it’s normal, we want to win. No time for celebration.

‘Really happy to score my first goal. We don’t have the win but it’s okay. Honestly it was really quick, I don’t even think about anything, I just put my head, try to score.’