Antony needs to become like Mahrez - but can he?

Karan Tejwani

• 26 Jan 2023 22:30 GMT
• 2 min read

Antony has been advised to play more like Riyad Mahrez and develop in a different manner after his first few months at Manchester United.

The Brazilian has had an inconsistent start to life at Manchester United – he started off well but his output hasn’t been quite as high.

In recent weeks, he has come under criticism for his predictability as he hasn’t been quite as effective with his dribbling and ability to beat his man.

READ: Man Utd star Antony 'becoming like Sancho' says Arsenal legend

Now, he’s been backed to play more like the Manchester City winger by former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, who was watching his performance in the League Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest.

Antony needs to improve

"I’ve been thinking a lot about Antony in the last few days," Neville said while on commentary duties for Sky Sports on Wednesday Evening.

"He needs to develop that Mahrez side of things to be able to go both ways. At the moment he’s still a little bit predictable in trying to always force it onto his left foot."

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

The worry for Antony is that he’s rarely ever been that sort of player, and it’s a skillset is something he hasn’t developed yet having not shown that for Ajax or Brazil.

Antony’s main attributes are his ability to create something out of nothing with his speed and dribbling ability, but he hasn’t been given the same space and time on the ball since moving to the league.

Although one-footedness isn’t the worst attribute, it has had a significant impact on his style and he has indeed been predictable, unlike a Mahrez, who has used his movement and exploitation of space to his advantage.

Mahrez is quick, intelligent and more confident with his dribbling, whereas Antony has often been reluctant to take a risk – something that has to change.

It’s unlikely that this will happen overnight, which is why this has to be seen as more of a transition season for Antony, but his development has to happen or he risks becoming to easy to beat.