Manchester United star Antony has revealed that he has been consistently training in one area to “make it better” after his impact against Liverpool in the FA Cup.
Antony has often been placed at the forefront of criticism after his blockbuster move from Ajax in 2022, with Manchester United paying an initial fee of £82m.
The 24-year-old Brazilian winger played under United boss Erik ten Hag at Ajax, but Antony has failed to impress his harshest detractors since his Old Trafford transfer.
Antony has only managed to score twice – both of which came in the FA Cup – in 30 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils in the current campaign.
The former Ajax star’s struggles with consistency and goalscoring output have raised concerns, despite Erik ten Hag backing Antony to turn things around at United.
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Antony on major improvement made
Antony played a crucial role in Manchester United’s thrilling 4-3 FA Cup quarter-final win over Premier League rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Brazil international came off the bench in the 71st minute – replacing striker Rasmus Hojlund – and appeared lively in attack as United trailed 2-1 at the time.
Antony fortunately received the ball late on after Alejandro Garnacho was closed down and the United star was immediately surrounded by three Liverpool players.
The Brazil winger expertly turned and put the ball on his right foot before slotting a superb low shot past Caoimhin Kelleher to put United level in the 87th minute.
Antony’s strike ensured the FA Cup tie went into extra time, with fellow substitute Amad Diallo grabbing a sensational winner in the second half of injury time.
Speaking after the Liverpool match, Antony insisted that he has tried to learn from the criticism that he has received and has been “silently” evolving his football.
The United winger added that one area that he has been improving in training is his right foot, saying that he is well aware of the potential he has on the pitch.
“It has been a period of a lot of learning,” Antony said, as per Goal.
“I try to learn from each criticism and understand where I can improve. I have been working silently to evolve and show my football on the field.
“I have also been training my right foot, to make it better. I know my potential and I know why Manchester hired me. I want to repay all of this on the field.”
Ten Hag talks Man Utd star Antony
Erik ten Hag has admitted that Antony has “struggled” and “lost confidence,” but he believes that the Brazilian is returning to the same level of form he had at Ajax.
Speaking to beIN Sports, he said: “It’s very important for him. He struggled so much. First part, he was not himself, he’s responsible for that.
“And then he lost confidence, and now he has to fight back. We see through the last two weeks [that] he’s returning.
“I see in training, I see the Antony I was used to work with at Ajax, and also used to work in the first weeks here.
“He has to fight back, and I’m sure he will do because you’ve seen that goal.
“But not only in the goal. When he’s going to [the] left full-back position, he’s defending very well. In certain systems, he can play from that side.
“He’s not a defending player, don’t get me wrong, because we have seen, he can score goals.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/JFN6q47