Paul Scholes has unpacked what Antony offered Manchester United in the second half of their 4-3 aggregate Europa League play-off win over Barcelona, praising Erik ten Hag for his ability to turn the tide after a drab first-half showing.
Brazilian Antony came on at half-time in place of Wout Weghorst with Marcus Rashford pushed up as the main striker. The winger gave visiting left-back Alejandro Balde a headache with his pace and runs before sweeping home the winner on 73 minutes.
Scholes said Antony gave the hosts the bit that was lacking in the first-half, after which United found themselves 1-0 down thanks to a Robert Lewandowski penalty. Ten Hag made several switches at the break, and within two minutes Fred had re-levelled the tie.
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Scholes noted this and praised both Antony and his manager for their attentiveness. “United were really flat in the first half, they needed something to get them going,” he told BT Sport.
“To be fair his [Ten Hag] substitutions have made a huge difference to the performance, and it didn’t really matter who made the difference, Antony did that and came up with a fantastic goal as well.”
He added: “That’s something [Antony] is really good at. They needed someone to run in behind today, United, in that first half they didn’t have it. As soon as he came on in the first minute of the second half that’s exactly what he did.
“All of a sudden, the left-back’s worried because he doesn’t know if he’s got to come short or spin in behind, so he has to stand off him a little bit. That’s where Antony comes into his own, because he can create space on that left-hand side.
“We’ve seen him this year not do it, but he is capable of doing that. The finish was fantastic.” Fellow pundit and former United teammate Owen Hargeaves said: “It’s not just about Antony, it’s about Ten Hag, he’s the one who made the call.
“He instantly changed the whole front four - Weghorst comes off, Antony off the right, [Burno] Fernandes goes where he wants to play as a 10. It just worked, everything just worked.”
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