Antony came up with the perfect response to recent criticism from Manchester United icon Gary Neville by scoring in the opening minutes of Friday night's FA Cup tie against Everton.
The Brazilian winger, who missed United's comprehensive win over Bournemouth in midweek, was restored to Erik ten Hag's starting XI for the third round clash against the struggling Toffees.
Antony's absence against the Cherries came amid some criticism of the 22-year-old since his big-money summer switch. The former Ajax star made a promising start to his Old Trafford career after scoring on his debut against Arsenal but his form has faltered in recent weeks, leading to Neville to admit that the winger had "a lot to do" in order to live up to his enormous £85million transfer fee.
But Antony conjured up the perfect response by getting himself onto the scoresheet just minutes into his first-team return.
The wide-man was in the perfect place to convert Marcus Rashford's low drive across goal to nudge United into a fourth minute lead.
Antony chalked up 10 goals and 12 assists in 32 games under Ten Hag at Ajax last season but has struggled to live up to expectations since swapping Amsterdam for Manchester.
Join the debate! What have you made of Antony's start to life at Man Utd? Let us know here.
Stuart Pearce took aim at Antony following United's slender win against Wolves last weekend. The former England full-back criticised the midfielder's work ethic and said that the United man 'irritated' him.
And Paul Scholes, another Old Trafford favourite, also called out Antony earlier in the season following an underwhelming performance against Sheriff in the Europa League back in October.
Antony was hooked at half-time by Ten Hag but made headlines for attempting an eye-catching 720-degree spin during the match. But Scholes was less than impressed by the winger's antics and claimed that he wasn't "entertaining" anybody with his antics.
The former Old Trafford favourite, speaking on BT Sport at the time, fumed: "He's not beating a man, he's not entertaining anybody, it's 0-0 then he kicks the ball out. That's the way he plays I've seen him do it many a time at Ajax as well and that's just the way he is but I think he needs that knocking out of him."
