Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag admits he wants to see more from Antony after the Brazil international starred in his side’s 3-1 FA Cup fourth round victory over Reading on Saturday night. The player created Casemiro’s first goal of the night as the midfielder bagged a brace, with Fred putting the game to bed midway through the second half.
“I think he is strong,” Ten Hag told ITV after being quizzed about Antony in the aftermath of the showdown. “We want him also to be more dynamic, more variable and more direct. And you see today it was a lovely pass on the first goal and it was a good Brazilian combination [with] Antony and Casemiro.
“So we are happy with his improvement in this moment but I feel there is more to come and I think he’s capable of it. There is big potential in him and he has to develop it every day.”
United were in imperious form at Old Trafford against their Championship opponents as Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst all had opportunities to break the deadlock. Antony was guilty of being profligate in front of goal as he saw four curling efforts drift wide of the post in the first half. And when the Red Devils did put the ball in the back of the net through Marcus Rashford, the effort was ruled out for offside.
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“They made it difficult, they are a decent team,” Ten Hag said of Reading as he reflected on the fourth round clash. “They were compact but we still made a lot of chances. We scored and were unlucky as it was disallowed but then in the second half we scored the goals, great goals, the Brazilian connection.”
And the Dutchman added: “We are here for trophies but we have a long way to go. We’re building.”