'Son of a b*tch!' - Antony's latest Man Utd setback

Stuart Telford

• 19 Jan 2023 11:16 GMT
• 3 min read

Antony is already beginning to split opinion halfway through his first season as a Manchester United player following last summer's €100 million arrival from Ajax.

The Brazil winger has the ability to lift Red Devils fans from their seats, and he has scored important goals against Arsenal and Manchester City.

But he has only scored five times in 18 games in all competitions and is yet to provide a single assist. His 360 degree turn against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League lit up social media, but United can expect a better end product for their outlay.

READ: "Fear? What is fear?" - Antony responds to criticism of his showboating

Erik ten Hag has clearly recognised this, and is increasingly blooding young winger Alejandro Garnacho in recent weeks. The Argentine replaced Antony on 70 minutes in Wednesday's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.

Antony had earlier put a ball straight out of play when Bruno Fernandes was open, and the Portuguese midfielder - who was captain for the night with Harry Maguire benched - was visibly annoyed.

Fiery exchange

Antony was spotted mouthing "filha de puta", which translates to "son of a b***h" in English, in response.

READ: Ronaldo to Garnacho is a glimpse of the future for Man Utd

The pair patched things up quickly, but Antony's frustration is mirrored by that of an increasing number of fans.

The loan arrival of Wout Weghorst could also negatively impact upon his first-team minutes.

Marcus Rashford has been leading the line for much of this season with Anthony Martial injured and Cristiano Ronaldo and the club enduring a protracted break-up. But with Weghorst at No.9, Rashford can hug one of the flanks full-time.

That leaves one spot, for Antony to contest with Garnacho, with Jadon Sancho behind both in the picking order at the minute despite recently returning to first-team training.

Garnacho could get the nod more often than not going forward. Antony's has a goal-involvement every 256 minutes this season. Garnacho's is one every 88 minutes. And Garnacho hasn't yet been caught swearing at his captain.