Manchester United winger Antony returned to the team line-up against Nottingham Forest.
It has been a mixed few days for Antony at Manchester United. He was omitted from the team once again at the weekend, with teenager Omari Forson preferred. Amad came off the bench before him, and he only came on for the final minute. It was described as his biggest humiliation yet.
This snub was a brutal one for the Brazilian, but with the media piling it on, manager Erik ten Hag decided to back him, declaring Antony as ‘unstoppable’ when he is on his game.
Nobody really believed him. But last night Antony was brought back into the starting line-up, and was given a chance to show what he can do.
How Antony fared
Antony hit the bar early in the game after a well worked corner kick saw him try his luck from the edge of the box. He was close, but not close enough.
And despite his agent telling us he would return a different player, Antony appeared to be struggling to put this into practice.
BBC commentator Alan Shearer criticised Antony for producing more of the same, although he did praise his defensive work rate.
He was praised on MUTV, with pundit John Curtis commenting on how well he tracked back and contributed to the team with workmanlike display.
The problem is of course, Manchester United had a workmanlike winger in Dan James a year earlier who was sold for £24 million. Was there really a need to sign another for £82 million?
United hoped Antony would be a lot more, and to his credit, he managed to create four goalscoring chances last night. The problem was,there was nobody in the middle.
His passing was neat, with 40 of 42 complete at 95 per cent, but the real issue came with his dribbling, where he failed with all four attempts completed.
Rodrygo encourages Antony
Antony’s Brazil teammate Casemiro scored the winning goal to ensure Manchester United won the game 1-0 and reached the next round.
Antony responded to his own performance on Instagram, writing simply: “Work hard.”
He received a supportive message from fellow Brazilian, Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, who replied: “Play hard.”
Antony needs confidence at the moment so any support coming his way is going to be appreciated. This season he has only one goal and one assist, which both came against League Two side Newport County in an earlier round.
In the next round United host Liverpool, and all will be forgotten if he scores a vital goal in the game.
He’s done it before. This is a player who has scored for United against Arsenal, Manchester City, and Barcelona.
Let’s see if he can recover his levels before the end of the season, before it is too late.