Lyon's veteran Rayan Cherki criticised Manchester United's style of play during their match and asserted that his team would not approach their game against the Red Devils with fear in the next leg. His critic came in light of the controversial statements made by Manchester United's goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Manchester United flew to the French city of Lyon for the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. The edge-of-the-seat thriller ended in a 2-2 tie. The result of the fixture will now depend on the outcome of the second leg.
Cherki slams Manchester United and Onana
The goalkeeper asserted before the match that his team was far superior to Lyon, but those words came back to haunt him following a dismal performance. The Red Devils seemed destined for victory after Joshua Zirkzee netted a goal in the 88th minute. But Cherki denied them a win as he netted a crucial equaliser in stoppage time.
According to Cherki, Manchester United displayed a negative approach throughout the game as Ruben Amorim employed two defensive midfielders in an attempt to 'park the bus'.
Cherki asserted that Lyon was the better of the two teams on the pitch and played with a positive intent.
"We played a full game. We were much better than that team. We showed the full extent of our talent. We know Manchester is a good team. We were never afraid of them. We will never be afraid of them," Cherki said.
"When you see that they come with two defensive midfielders, it's because they're particularly afraid of us. I hope they don't do the same thing there. We're going to go there to play offensively and to prove that we play very good football, with only one goal in mind: victory," Cherki added.
Both teams will face each other in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League fixture on April 18th after a brief domestic break.