Manchester United winger Antony is enjoying a recovery in form in 2024 although his game time remains limited.
The Brazilian Antony‘s agent spoke to United In Focus earlier this year and said he would return as a different player.
The trouble is, the Brazilian is no longer a regular starter at Manchester United, with Alejandro Garnacho switching over to the right wing.
So Antony has had to do less with more, a challenge considering he did nothing with a lot, during the first half of the season.
Impressively, there have been signs of improvement. His extra-time forcing goal against Liverpool might have saved United’s season,leading to a 4-3 victory.
Antony reveals optimism
Antony has remained optimistic he can turn his fortunes around, along with the team’s, amid a frustrating season.
Speaking to club media, Antony explained how he told a teammate before the Liverpool game that he believed the side was on the verge of a special result.
He said: “Before the game, I had a feeling that something good was going to happen, I’d even shared this with a teammate.
“I’m happy to have helped my team-mates with an important goal towards getting the win. It was a very memorable day.”
Embellishing this further, Antony added: “I’ll remember the feeling for the rest of my life.”
It was a special goal, with Antony turning inside the box up against Virgil van Dijk, before finishing low with his right foot, a true rarity.
The goal made it 2-2, with United winning 4-3 in extra-time thanks to a late winner from Amad.
Antony fit for semi-final
Antony missed Manchester United’s Premier League game with Bournemouth last weekend with an injury.
He has been working hard to recover, and was pictured back in training earlier this week.
Whether he will be in the starting line-up is another matter, but he will be desperate to be involved, after missing last season’s FA Cup final with an injury.
Speaking aboutsemi-final opponents Coventry, Antony commented: “Playing in a semi-final in such a historic stadium is really important.
“Even though they are in the Championship, we have to respect them as they didn’t reach an FA Cup semi-final by chance.
“I’m looking forward to the game and how good it will be, we’ll study the opposition to be prepared to meet our objective.
“We know how important the FA Cup is, and it’s really important for us and the fans to win this trophy.”
United’s season is now pretty much dependent on winning the FA Cup, with qualification for next year’s Champions League looking out of reach.
The other semi-final between Chelsea and Manchester City will take place a day earlier.
