Erik ten Hag hits back at Antony criticism after Barcelona goal

On Thursday evening, it was Antony who provided Manchester United with the crucial finish to allow them to progress past Barcelona in the Europa League.

It was Antony’s first minutes in two weeks, as he had been out through for Manchester United‘s last five fixtures ahead of the Barcelona second leg, with Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes covering on the right wing.

Antony returned to action for Erik ten Hag in the second half of Thursday evening’s victory over Barcelona, coming on at half-time for Wout Weghorst and slotting in on his favoured right-hand side.

Antony has come under much criticism in recent months, with pundits claiming United “got it wrong” with the winger’s £85 million signing in the summer.

Read More: Marco van Basten claims Manchester United got it wrong with “confused” Antony

With a big price tag comes big questions, and with big questions comes big pressure and criticism. Erik ten Hag, speaking after the Barcelona fixture, has said that he knows Antony can deal with this criticism.

“I know he can do that (deal with criticism),” explained Ten Hag “He is brave, he is fearless. What he brought second-half is what we needed, running behind, dribbles, and of course his goal. He is brave and he will go for it. He brings so much to this team.”

This is not the first time Erik ten Hag has explained how his squad plays better with Antony on the field.

“When he’s playing (full games), the team is winning,” Ten Hag explained towards the beginning of the month. “That already gives a message of how well he is performing.”

However, despite this, Ten Hag did recognise that Antony can do better by becoming more direct and more involved in games – just like against Barcelona.

“He can do better, I see space for improvement. For instance, and I think also you know this, we want him to be more direct and be more involved. But as I said, the team is performing better if he is on the pitch. That’s a good thing, that’s a good base to build further.”

Manchester United’s next fixture is a Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United, set to kick off in Wembley stadium at 16:30 local time.