Paul Scholes proved right on one Man United player despite 3-0 loss

Despite Manchester United’s embarrassing 3-0 loss to Sevilla that sent them crashing out of the Europa League on Thursday evening, Paul Scholes’ pre-match comments were proved correct surrounding Antony.

After signing for Manchester United for a fee of £85 million, life started well for Antony, scoring in his first three Premier League fixtures.

His output dried up slightly, however, with inconsistent performances leading to criticism that the Brazilian winger is two one-dimensional under Erik ten Hag.

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In recent weeks, however, his performances have improved to a noticeable extent, and his performance on Thursday was United’s only positive note from what was a night to forget in Seville.

When asked ahead of the fixture on BT Sport if Antony is finally meeting expectations, Scholes replied: “I think he is, yes. It took some convincing for me, especially after the first part of the season but over the last two weeks since that Everton game at home, he has become a different player.

“I felt he became a little bit predictable, always cutting inside on his left foot and he needed to add different dimensions to his game, and in the Everton game, he did that.

“He started to run in behind Ben Godrey – he did it two or three times – he was clean through on goal but he didn’t quite get the goal.

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“He started to beat people on the outside and now his confidence is there. He’s starting to look like the player that we all expected. Now look, he’s still going to do his silly stuff, I’m sure he is, but we don’t mind if he’s producing goals and great passes.

“He needs more of those goals, he needs to get himself in the box when the ball is on the other side. He will score a lot of goals for this team over the next couple of years.”

Despite the dreadful performance against Sevilla, Antony was praised for his work rate, resilience, and determination down the right flank – he was the only Manchester United player who was trying to force attacking action on the night.

Antony completed 20 of 23 passes, created four chances including one big chance, won all three of his tackles, and 6 out of his 10 ground duels.