Antony is facing criticism in the English media after his performance against Fulham. The forward, who was transferred to Manchester United from Ajax, received exceptionally low report card grades.
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The local newspaper Manchester Evening News gave Antony a 2. "The best Brazilian winger on the field was wearing a white shirt," referring to opponent Willian. "Antony was his usual frivolous self, disrupting every attack and having no impact whatsoever. His substitution was met with applause." Antony was even compared to Bebé, the Brazilian flop who was under contract with Man Utd from 2010 to 2014.
The popular fan account Utd District was even harsher on Antony. A report card grade of 1 came with the following criticism: "One of the worst - perhaps the worst - performances in a United shirt. And there have been many bad performances, terrible." Sky Sport was more lenient and gave him a 5, while BBC rated Antony just above a 3.
Other English media were not pleased with the overall play of Man Utd. The Sun had expected a better response from the players after two painful defeats. "Bruno Fernandes saves Man Utd from yet another miserable week. For ninety minutes, the quality and desire that one would expect after performances as poor as the derby against Manchester City and the humiliation in the League Cup against Newcastle United were lacking."
Sky Sports suspects that this match may have positive consequences for Ten Hag's position, even though the play was not good. "After two consecutive 0-3 defeats, there were question marks around Ten Hag, but this victory eases some of the pressure. After eight losses in the first fifteen games of the season, things became so heated for Ten Hag that Man Utd found it necessary to deny reports about a successor for the Dutchman."
At the Daily Telegraph, they saw that Man Utd got a stroke of luck at the right moment. "Ten Hag must have wondered if a bit of luck would ever come his way, that bit of luck arrived just in time against Fulham. This victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat, in one of the worst matches of the recent period. If Ten Hag was searching for a bit of glitter and glamour, he had to look very closely."
Updated: 05:00, 4 Nov 2023
