‘Be more brave!’: Ten Hag challenges Man Utd star after polarising display

Suraj Radia

• 10 Mar 2023 11:21 GMT
• 2 min read

Erik ten Hag has called on one of his star players to ‘be more brave’ despite putting in a goalscoring performance during Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Real Betis.

United took a commanding lead in their Europa League tie against the Spanish side and Antony scored the team’s second goal with a magnificent, curled effort past ex-Manchester City keeper Claudio Bravo.

The goal was Antony’s fourth this calendar year however all have come outside the Premier League, with the Brazilian having failed to net in the league since October when he scored in his first three games in the competition.

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Ten Hag praised his summer signing for his impact against Betis, having netted in the previous round against Barcelona, but also challenged the 23-year-old to ‘do better’.

“I don't think he can only do it [score] in the Europa League games, because he scored in his first three games in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said.

“But in the first half, he could do better to make more actions, be more brave, go more behind, taking players on, but especially more movement, using his speed.”

“I think the second half performance was much better, he made a great goal, and important goal,” the manager added.

’Selfish’ Antony frustrates fans despite goal

United responded well after their 7-0 humiliation to rivals Liverpool in their last game and Antony’s contribution was pivotal to their success against Betis but the forward was also criticised by fans for his ‘selfish’ play.

Despite his goal, Antony could have finished with a hat-trick after wasting two good chances, including one where he went for goal instead of cutting the ball back to a teammate, who could have had a tap-in.

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The ex-Ajax man has netted seven times in all competitions for United but he has yet to create a goal for his new side, producing an xA rate of just 0.04 per 90 minutes – meaning his current output would result in one assist every 25 games.

Antony became one of United’s most expensive signings when he signed on deadline day last summer for a fee of £85 million.