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Antony scored his first Premier League goal since October to give Manchester United a 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
The Red Devils star arrived at Old Trafford for a fee of £86million last summer with big things expected of the Brazilian.
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Antony scored his first Premier League goal since October against Forest
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It was just his fourth since arriving for £86million having scored in his first three league appearances
Despite scoring three goals in his first three league fixtures for the Erik ten Hag’s side, the 23-year-old has been on a barren run since then having failed to score a Premier League goal in six months since.
But Antony ended that unwanted streak as he reacted quickest to tap home at the City Ground after Keylor Navas parried Anthony Martial’s fierce strike.
He then went on to bag an assist as he set up Diogo Dalot’s late strike to put United 2-0 up, a decent way to respond to his critics, most notably Gabby Agbonlahor.
The talkSPORT host has regularly discussed Antony’s lack of end-product in recent months, previously describing him as ‘a bluffer’.
Speaking in February, Agbonlahor said: “Manchester United have looked better since Erik ten Hag has come in and they’ve done better in the last few months.
“But when I look at Antony, there’s been a few big transfers in the Premier League, £86million for him…
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Agbonlahor has been a big critic of Antony this season
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“I think he’s a bluffer. I think when he gets the ball, he doesn’t take a player on. He doesn’t have the speed to take players on.
“With 11 league games he’s got three goals, no assists. Four Carabao Cup games, one goal, no assists. Two FA Cup games, one goal, one assist. That’s one assist in all competitions.
“He doesn’t do what Rashford does. Rashford gets the ball direct, takes players on, puts balls into the box.
“The big thing for me is [Antony’s] number of crosses. He’s put in 1.5 crosses [average] per game. If you’re a striker, you’re making runs and he’s doing his tricks, cutting in, cutting back, not putting the ball in the box.
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Antony has struggled in recent months but it could be a key goal in Man United’s hopes of finishing in the top four
“I played with a great winger, Ashley Young, still playing now at 37. His first season at Aston Villa, he got nine goals and 14 assists. You always knew he was going to put the ball in, take a player on, do his step overs, do his chops, but he’d always put the ball in the right areas.
“For me, Antony’s 1.5 crosses a game is not good enough.”
Source: TalkSport | Read More