Manchester United icon Paul Scholes has hit out at Antony again after the Brazilian winger's embarrassing party trick backfired in the club's 3-0 win over Sheriff Tiraspol on Thursday night.
Scholes came under fire for brutally branding the Brazilian winger a "one-trick pony" earlier this month following Antony's lacklustre performance against Nicosia Omonia in the Europa League.
The former playmaker gave a lighthearted reaction on social media after Antony impressed and scored in United's crucial 2-1 win over Everton to silence him just days later. But Antony was left with egg on his face after his showboating antics backfired at Old Trafford - and Scholes has now taken a fresh swipe at the 22-year-old.
Towards the end of the first half, with the match still goalless, Antony unveiled a number of extravagant flicks and spins at a time when his side needed points in their bid to seal their spot in the knockout stages of the competition. United boss Erik ten Hag, who went to great lengths to bring Antony to Old Trafford in an £85million deal from Ajax in the summer, was visibly annoyed after the forward kicked the ball straight out of play following an extravagant spin just before the break.
Antony was hauled off just eight minutes later at the half-time interval - and although Ten Hag insisted that the change had already been pencilled in, Scholes was less convinced.
While Scholes admitted that he enjoyed showboating "as much as anyone" he was critical of Antony's decision-making when speaking at half-time. He told BT Sport: "If I was that number 61 [Sheriff defender] I know what I'd be doing! I don't know what he's [Antony] doing. It's just ridiculous. It's showboating.
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"Look at [Ten Hag's reaction], that sums it up. What is he thinking? He's not beating a man, he's not entertaining anybody, it's 0-0 and then he kicks the ball out. But that's the way he plays, I’ve seen him do it many times for Ajax as well and that’s just the way he is, but I think he needs that knocking out of him."
After the match, Ten Hag refused to criticise Antony directly for the incident but he did hint that he was unhappy when quizzed on the incident.
The Dutchman told reporters at his post-match press conference: "I do not have a problem with that, as long as it is functional. So from him, like everyone else, I demand more. More runs behind, being more often in the [opposition's] box. More pressing. More dribbles against opponents. More playing in the pockets. We demand more dominance.
"Then there is a trick like that which is nice, but as long as it is functional and you do not lose the ball. Then it is ok. But it is a trick and because of the trick, I will correct him."
