‘He is the right player for us’
Erik ten Hag has backed Antony to turn around his form following his challenging start to the season.
The Brazilian featured in Manchester United’s crushing 3-0 defeat against Newcastle United on Wednesday night as goals from Miguel Almiron, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock secured the Magpies’ passage to the quarter finals.
Wednesday’s game marked was Antony’s 10th appearance of the so far and last season’s £86m arrival from Ajax has failed to score or assist in any of them.
United have already lost eight games this season as Ten Hag continues to face pressure from fans and pundits over the club’s poor start to the season.
Antony has also faced plenty of criticism but Ten Hag has put his full support behind the 23-year-old.
“He can do better, but all the players can do better.
“Antony is also a fighter, he has the confidence, he is brave, I am confident he will bring the performance that [shows] he is the right player for us.”
Before the game, Andy Cole told Sky Sports that he finds Antony frustrating to watch.
“He would drive me absolutely mad,” he told Sky Sports.
“He’s an individual, we all know he’s very left-footed, he’s an individual who never goes to the right-hand side so as a centre-forward, if you’re making a run to the near post you know you’re never going to get it. He’s going to check back, you’re not sure when he’s going to put it in the box.
“He doesn’t score enough goals for me, he doesn’t create enough chances for his teammates. So you look at that and say, ‘okay, what are you giving?’. That’s what you’re expecting from him. They’ve spent a hell of a lot of money on him, the manager’s backed him and he’s found it really, really tough.”
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