A number of Manchester United fans online have rushed to defend the importance of Antony in the team after his impressive performance in the FA Cup.
What’s the latest on Antony?
Over the weekend, the Red Devils missed out on their Premier League obligations as they had a cup tie against Fulham to worry about.
And for the first 70 minutes or so, they looked as though they could well be knocked out. Indeed, the away team took a well-deserved lead in the second half via Aleksandar Mitrovic.
However, with Fulham in control, things shifted suddenly when Willian tried to block the ball on the line when Jadon Sancho rounded the goalkeeper.
Upon VAR review, he was deemed to have used his hand and so the winger was sent off and a penalty was rewarded. At the same time, Marco Silva and Mitrovic both lost their heads and were subsequently also handed red cards.
United equalised from the spot through Bruno Fernandes before Marcel Sabitzer scored again just minutes later and then the Portuguese sealed the win with a third late on.
It could have been a very nervous end to the game but for Fulham’s complete capitulation. Their manager still hadn’t calmed down completely after the final whistle as he questioned his own sending off which came for supposed dissent towards referee Chris Kavanagh.
He told BBC Sport: “I am not going to lie. I didn’t say he was a really nice guy and the decision was fair. But he didn’t hear me.”
Amid all the drama, Man Utd fans can be happy with the way their team responded and it seems as though one individual had a pretty impressive display.
Indeed, Antony came off the bench for Scott McTominay with his team 1-0 down and 32 minutes to play. In that period, he completed three out of four dribbles, had 94 per cent passing accuracy, 28 touches, created one big chance, made two key chances, and won five duels (via SofaScore).
On top of all that, he nearly scored a goal-of-the-season contender with a brilliant dribble, taking four players out of the game including the goalkeeper.
Evidently, the Brazilian was key in turning this potential defeat into a win and while he has been much-maligned at points this season, it seems as though the Man Utd fans were happy to praise him on this occasion.
Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter…