One of the most expensive flops in club history at Manchester United was due to go on loan this summer, but blocked all offers. Erik ten Hag’s favourite player at Ajax was set to fight for game time in a United shirt and rise from two very disappointing seasons since his £86m move to the Red Devils. There was no playing time to talk about, neither with Ten Hag nor with Ruben Amlrim. This time it was a rental stay, which has really got Antony going.
Last Sunday, Real Beti – with Antony in the squad – took on Athletic Club and took a strong point against La Liga’s currently 4th best club. Antony didn’t score, but he played great and was named Player of the Match for his 72 minutes on the pitch. This comes in his debut, with a measly 402 playing minutes in his legs this season. Actually completely raw of the United flop.
On Saturday, it was time for Antony to be on the pitch again, this time against Celta Vigo. In the first leg, the 24-year-old was on the pitch for 72 minutes, against Celta exactly the same. Real Betis set a high pace from the start and shook the home team already after 10 minutes. And who was the scorer? Antony!
Betis continued the pressure with another goal twelve minutes later. Unfortunately, Antony did not get to celebrate the goal with a win, as the Celta Vigo players abruptly woke up and recovered to a 3-2 victory.
For Antony, it was still a great personal victory.
In the Premier League, he averaged around 20 minutes in the 8 games he conceded on the pitch. With 72 minutes of playing time in the Betis shirt, Antony has both shown he has Player of the Match potential and can score the all-important first goal for his team.
The “curse” at Manchester United has clearly been broken.
