Erik ten Hag favourite Antony has been called “pathetic” after his half-hearted attempt to block a shot from Willian in Manchester United’s contest with Fulham on Saturday. United entered their match against Fulham in need of a win and a strong performance with pressure mounting on Ten Hag.
The United boss’ preparations were dealt a blow when Marcus Rashford was ruled out due to an injury he sustained in training. Antony was expected to start regardless with the Brazilian heavily backed by Ten Hag to come good after he was signed for an eye-watering £86million last year.
That fee has been scrutinised ever since with Antony failing to impress and the 23-year-old failed to live up to his manager’s expectations once again in the first half against Fulham. Bruno Fernandes had given Antony a rollicking earlier on in the half when Antony tried a trick on the wing and lost the ball.
But that heated chat failed to kick Antony into life defensively as his compatriot Willian easily skipped past the United winger in the 46th minute to let off a dangerous shot that only just fired wide.
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And Jenas let rip at the Brazilian for his lack of effort and called it “unforgivable”. Jenas started: “It’s pathetic, it really is from a defensive point of view.
“Everyone on the planet knows what Willian wants to do there, he wants to drop his shoulder, cut in on his right foot and get a shot off. To just hang your leg out, put your team under pressure like that towards the end of the first half, it’s not forgivable.”
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Ten Hag defended Antony this week after the winger came under scrutiny for his recent displays. The Uinted boss insists he’s “responsible” for Antony’s poor form but backs the former Ajax star to start showing his worth.
He said: “That is also team, first, and the team is not playing well when we don’t bring him the balls and I am also responsible for that. But obviously, there was also a lot of noise and that dropped his levels. He can do better but all the players can do better.
“Antony is also a fighter, he has the confidence, he is brave and I am confident he will bring the performance that he is the right player for us.”
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