Jadon Sancho has made quite the response since coming back from a period out with 'physical and mental issues' - four months after being criticised following the Manchester derby.
The 22-year-old and Brazilian winger Antony were slammed by Arsene Wenger and Paul Scholes after Manchester United's 6-3 defeat by Manchester City on October 2. A hat-trick each from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden earned Pep Guardiola's side the derby day spoils at the Etihad Stadium on the day.
Wenger told beIN Sports: "From the first minute, [Diogo] Dalot got a yellow card, and Sancho and Antony did not contribute defensively. They were, in the whole half, flooded on the flanks and they were always in trouble. After that, when they had the ball, I felt they were obsessed by respecting too much the game plan.
"They wanted always to go too quickly forward and lost so many balls and didn't have enough possession. They didn't play for possession, they wanted just to get on the counter-attack."
Meanwhile, Scholes posted a picture of Ryan Giggs and David Beckham to his Instagram story the day after United's defeat. Along with the image, Scholes add the caption: "Anyone remember when wingers used to help their full-backs?" The caption clearly suggested that Scholes was unhappy with the support the duo provided to Dalot and Tyrell Malacia.
Sancho continued to struggle after the heavy defeat and ended up making just five more appearances before spending some time out of the team. Initially, Sancho was described as being unwell and therefore didn't feature again before the World Cup - missing crucial Premier League fixtures against Aston Villa and Fulham.
His absence was prolonged, however, as Erik ten Hag confirmed that he was spending some time away and needed to undergo a rehabilitation programme in December while the rest of the squad was in Spain or at the World Cup. The United boss also revealed that Sancho was not in the physical or mental shape to return and had to do some extra work in the Netherlands to ensure he got back to peak condition.
10 weeks after dropping out of the first-team picture, Sancho returned to training in mid-January with the rest of his United teammates as they prepared for the second half of the season. The former Borussia Dortmund man made his long-awaited return to the matchday squad for the trip to Crystal Palace on January 24, but didn't feature until a fortnight later against Nottingham Forest.
It was an emotional return to action for Sancho, who impressed from the bench as the Red Devils booked their place in the final of the EFL Cup. After being named as an unused substitute against Palace three days later, Sancho was handed a chance off the bench to shine in a home game against Leeds on February 8.
Sancho took that opportunity with both hands as he helped United recover a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford, with the England international scoring the equaliser with his first goal since returning. Ten Hag cut an emotional figure on the touchline as Sancho ran away to celebrate.
Following a succession of inspiring performances as a substitute, Sancho was rewarded with a place in the starting XI for the trip to Leeds and kept his spot for Thursday's clash with Barcelona. He appeared for 82 minutes at Camp Nou before being brought off as United drew 2-2 in the first leg of the Europa League play-off.
Sancho has forced his way back into Ten Hag's plans and is starting to show why he is so highly-rated at the club, impressing in and out of possession following the criticism fired at him by Wenger and Scholes. This is an indicator that the Dutch manager is willing to stick by players and help them through tricky patches of form.
Have you been impressed by Jadon Sancho's resurgence? Have your say in the comments!
The same is true of Antony, who has not set to the world alight since his £85million move from Ajax in the summer, but has showed flashes of brilliance at times. The 22-year-old hasn't played since the FA Cup win over Reading due to injury but is trusted by Ten Hag as he tries to justify the amount he spent on him.
Antony could have his work cut out to slot straight back into the XI, however, as Sancho has started the last two matches on the right wing. But the Brazilian does look willing to fight for his place and may return to the squad for the visit of Leicester on Sunday afternoon.
Sancho has set the perfect blueprint that Antony should follow as the latter tries to get back to his best ahead of the run-in. Only time will tell whether Antony can shine like Sancho has in the last few fixtures, although he could be offered plenty of chances as United face a packed fixture list between now and the end of March.
