Manchester United's victory over Everton in the FA Cup on Friday night was another example of the positive impact that Erik ten Hag has had since his arrival at the club. It was a great evening for everyone involved with the club - and saw Antony register his fourth goal in Red shirt since joining from Ajax.
After scoring three times in his opening three Premier League matches, the Brazilian winger was expected to kick on and flourish at Old Trafford. Instead, it has been a difficult few months for the 22-year-old, who, until scoring against the Toffees on Friday, had failed to find the back of the net since early October.
Antony has missed five matches through injury this term and has made just 15 appearances in all competitions. With the player having joined in a deal rising to €100million, he is always going to be under scrutiny to perform for United. In recent weeks, the attacker has been told that he's got a way to go in order to prove he was worth the sum the club paid for him.
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After Gary Neville tweeted about Chelsea's interest in Enzo Fernandez, who is likely to cost in excess of £100m, a fan responded to him claiming that he didn't have any concerns about the transfer fees United paid for Antony and Paul Pogba. The Reds legend suggested that Antony did need to do a lot more, but dismissed comparisons between the two aforementioned players.
Neville insisted that Pogba, who left United at the end of last season, already had a pedigree before he became the Reds' club-record signing back in 2016.
He tweeted: "Agree with Anthony (he’s a lot to do to get to 95m price tag). [Paul] Pogba had pedigree when he signed for United so not comparable."
Antony will be under no illusions that he does have to do more at United, but after being restored to Ten Hag 's starting XI for the third round clash against Everton, he came up with a good response to his recent critics. It was, however, just a start. The player must now use it as a building block to improve and better himself under his manager.
The Brazilian, who was in the perfect place to convert Marcus Rashford 's inch-perfect cross to give United into a fourth-minute lead against Frank Lampard's side, registered 10 goals and 12 assists in 32 games under Ten Hag at Ajax last term. His form in the Netherlands was exceptional, and it came as no surprise that the Reds were so desperate to sign him.
The 22-year-old was, however, called out by United legend Paul Scholes in October, with Antony having been taken off at half-time of the Europa League clash against Sheriff. Despite playing just 45 minutes, he came under criticism for attempting - and completing - a 720-degree spin during the match.
Former Reds midfielder Scholes was not impressed, and claimed that he wasn't "entertaining" anybody with his antics.
"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," he said on BT Sport.
While it divided opinion, Antony is unlikely to change how he plays the game. He said as much when he was at Ajax. Despite this, he does need to show that the club were right to put their faith in him. The money United paid for the Brazilian will always be mentioned, but the attacker has already shown he has produce under pressure in his career.
Neville was right that the former Ajax man needs to do more in order to prove his worth, but Antony will already be aware of that fact.
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