[Delano]

Early days for him, but I give him credit for that game.

Like everyone else, he didn't play well at all in the first half, but he didn't give up and was our only real positive from our starting 11.

"Character" is a cliche but it bodes well for his development that he showed up second half.

 

[Dominos]

Two goals in his first two PL games against the two teams currently on top of the table.

It's a nice stat to take the scrutiny and focus off him. Usually a player with his price tag the media and non-United fans can't wait to stick the boot in, he'd be getting meme'd if he didn't do anything today.

 

[the_cliff]

When he signed I saw a lot of Youtube videos of him dribbling really well, going both directions.

Why isn’t he running at players for us?

This is what I was thinking.

I haven't seen much of him at Ajax but I was expecting him to be more Brazilian in the way he attacks the fullbacks. there were many opportunities for him to take on the defenders but chose to pass it to the middle or back to Dalot.

To be fair he was a bright spark in the second half and looked more confident the longer the game went on but I would like to see more of the Brazilian flair that all those Dutch and Brazil fans talk about.

 

[Chief123]

This is what I was thinking.

I haven't seen much of him at Ajax but I was expecting him to be more Brazilian in the way he attacks the fullbacks. there were many opportunities for him to take on the defenders but chose to pass it to the middle or back to Dalot.

To be fair he was a bright spark in the second half and looked more confident the longer the game went on but I would like to see more of the Brazilian flair that all those Dutch and Brazil fans talk about.

I feel his lack of attempts to take a man on the outside might be based on instructions. ETH may want to keep possession in those dangerous areas rather than risk a counter attack, wants to work the ball to find the opening. I can only imagine it’s an instruction because I’ve seen him take on a man plenty of times for Ajax either with skill or knock it past them.

If he does go past his man, we don’t really have the kind of striker who is going to attack the ball if Antony was to pull it back. It’s like he would need to come back inside anyway.

 

[the_cliff]

I feel his lack of attempts to take a man on the outside might be based on instructions. ETH may want to keep possession in those dangerous areas rather than risk a counter attack, wants to work the ball to find the opening. I can only imagine it’s an instruction because I’ve seen him take on a man plenty of times for Ajax either with skill or knock it past them.

If he does go past his man, we don’t really have the kind of striker who is going to attack the ball if Antony was to pull it back. It’s like he would need to come back inside anyway.

You're probably right but that's the thing, ETH was his manager at Ajax as well.

I do agree that we don't have a Haller but I do think we'd be more dangerous if Antony did go past his man as it would cause a headache to defenders and would probably leave our midfielders with more space on the edge of the box to either shoot or distribute the play.

He did take on the City lb in the second half though and was a lot more confident in demanding the ball from his team mates so it may just be a confidence thing.

Imo the second half today was probably his best performance for us so far, only positive I take from the game.

 

[Chief123]

You're probably right but that's the thing, ETH was his manager at Ajax as well.

I do agree that we don't have a Haller but I do think we'd be more dangerous if Antony did go past his man as it would cause a headache to defenders and would probably leave our midfielders with more space on the edge of the box to either shoot or distribute the play.

He did take on the City lb in the second half though and was a lot more confident in demanding the ball from his team mates so it may just be a confidence thing.

Imo the second half today was probably his best performance for us so far, only positive I take from the game.

I feel it’s instructions based on the style of play ETH wants to play which is similar to City’s style. I think he wants inside forwards who come inside to link up and use over lapping full backs. We rarely see a city winger take a player on the outside. They’ll generally come inside as well and look for underlapping runs from KDB, Bernardo or wait for the full back to over lap. It does reduce the chances of a turnover and counter attack against you as well as pinning a team back as the opponents wingers then have to track back and follow the over lapping full back.

I know it sounds like over complicating the thinking, but I’m certain it’s instructions that ETH is deploying because Antony isn’t making a conscious effort to go around the outside.

 

[GledTheRed]

Standards for geatness have seriously dropped here.

I'm all in for giving him time, that's pretty obvious he deserves some before having any definitive opinion about him, and he's not responsible for his transfer tag. But lets not pretend he was great or brilliant outside of a very nice goal today, he was totally transparent for half of the game and OK+ in the second half. The best out of a very bad bunch maybe, nothing more than that.

Pretty much all his limited involvements were good, he certainly wasn't shit and is a total waste of money as most people will have you believe.

 

[Dominos]

I feel his lack of attempts to take a man on the outside might be based on instructions. ETH may want to keep possession in those dangerous areas rather than risk a counter attack, wants to work the ball to find the opening. I can only imagine it’s an instruction because I’ve seen him take on a man plenty of times for Ajax either with skill or knock it past them.

If he does go past his man, we don’t really have the kind of striker who is going to attack the ball if Antony was to pull it back. It’s like he would need to come back inside anyway.

Surely City winning the league without playing a striker in most games puts an end to this sort of thinking?

The players we have need to make better runs towards the back post or for the cut backs. Eriksen, Bruno, Martial, Rashford, Ronaldo, Sancho all need to be getting on the end of any ball played between defence and goalkeeper or cut backs to the edge of the box. They need to be trained and instructed to make the right runs and hammer it in to them until they do it with consistency. City were the top scoring team before Haaland.

We're overcomplicating how to create chances. Beating your man on the outside and flashing it across the 6 yard box will result in a lot of goals. Beating your man on the outside and cutting it back will result in a lot goals. You only need half a yard to get a cross in and he has the pace to get that space, particularly when they're trying to over-cover him cutting inside.

We're also generally poor at utilising overlaps to get in good crossing positions. If you're constantly cutting in because you're utilising overlaps effectively great. But you can't be poor at both overlaps and beating a man on the outside, then you have nothing.

 

[GledTheRed]

When he signed I saw a lot of Youtube videos of him dribbling really well, going both directions.

Why isn’t he running at players for us?

Because he's played against the top two teams in the league and players don't generally take the piss against them?

 

[the_cliff]

I feel it’s instructions based on the style of play ETH wants to play which is similar to City’s style. I think he wants inside forwards who come inside to link up and use over lapping full backs. We rarely see a city winger take a player on the outside. They’ll generally come inside as well and look for underlapping runs from KDB, Bernardo or wait for the full back to over lap. It does reduce the chances of a turnover and counter attack against you as well as pinning a team back as the opponents wingers then have to track back and follow the over lapping full back.

I know it sounds like over complicating the thinking, but I’m certain it’s instructions that ETH is deploying because Antony isn’t making a conscious effort to go around the outside.

It probably is to be fair. Just confused as to why Antony would be used differently at Ajax by the same manager.

 

[bosnian_red]

Tbh I think he has that rare Bernardo Silva level of technique. Think he's going to be an absolute star here. Important to remember he's 22 and just joined a the Prem so it'll take time for him to adapt and develop, but he's already ridiculously talented and so good with his technique, touch, dribbling, passing, etc. Showed his shooting capability today too with that beauty.

 

[marktan]

This is what I was thinking.

I haven't seen much of him at Ajax but I was expecting him to be more Brazilian in the way he attacks the fullbacks. there were many opportunities for him to take on the defenders but chose to pass it to the middle or back to Dalot.

To be fair he was a bright spark in the second half and looked more confident the longer the game went on but I would like to see more of the Brazilian flair that all those Dutch and Brazil fans talk about.

I'm one of the few on here that thinks he's not actually that good at dribbling - great close control, but from what I've seen he's not explosive in his acceleration, thus struggling to beat players from a standing start. It was the same concern I had with Sancho. Players like Saint max, O. Dembele, Leao, or Mane, Nani etc before, those players are great dribblers because combined with the great technical ability was a great spring from a standing start.

That said he is fast when at full speed and is way more aggressive than someone like Sancho so hopefully he turns out much better.

 

[RedRonaldo]

I think we should all just forget about his price tag. He is simply another 40m rated winger trying to take his time to adapt his game in PL. Nothing outstanding there, but nothing too shite about it too.

To be honest I originally thought he was the type of player with performance over end products. But so far it seems it’s the opposite.

 

[paraguayo]

It's not a great strategy to dribble outside of his man, when the only person in the box is Rashford is it?

He clearly is being instructed to attack in another way, where the team creates a chance together. He would dribble all day if he was instructed to, it's his bread and butter

 

[Waynne]

I'm one of the few on here that thinks he's not actually that good at dribbling - great close control, but from what I've seen he's not explosive in his acceleration, thus struggling to beat players from a standing start. It was the same concern I had with Sancho. Players like Saint max, O. Dembele, Leao, or Mane, Nani etc before, those players are great dribblers because combined with the great technical ability was a great spring from a standing start.

That said he is fast when at full speed and is way more aggressive than someone like Sancho so hopefully he turns out much better.

We need more players like him in midfield if we're going to be trying to emulate a City side in dominating possession. Close control, press resistant, a wand of a left foot and ability to beat a man if he needs to.
If we sign a few more like him up front it will transform this side.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Ability to be able to cross, provide creativity in the team, can score goals, can pass, and has work rate. I thought we were getting those from Sancho, turn up we are getting those from Antony, while Sancho doesn't provide any of what I expected him to offer. For early starts, there are signs of positive about him. I heard there was debate between Sancho or Antony about who's going to take no 7 next season? Well, I am more leaning towards Antony to take it.

 

[Bondi77]

Ability to be able to cross, provide creativity in the team, can score goals, can pass, and has work rate. I thought we were getting those from Sancho, turn up we are getting those from Antony, while Sancho doesn't provide any of what I expected him to offer. For early starts, there are signs of positive about him. I heard there was debate between Sancho or Antony about who's going to take no 7 next season? Well, I am more leaning towards Antony to take it.

Whoever the club think they can get the most marketing value out of will get the 7 jersey......sad but true.

 

[Trex]

He works hard, has a wand of a left foot, technically very good with flair, looks a fighter, would beat you if you get tight on him, has variety between passing, crossing and shooting while cutting in on his stronger foot.
So far as you don't expect him to be prime Arjen Robben then he wouldn't disappoint.

 

[Ajaxsuarez]

You're probably right but that's the thing, ETH was his manager at Ajax as well.

You'll be happy to hear then that this complaint was very common amongst Ajax fans as well.

He doesn't take on players when you want him to, and it does feel like instructions more than anything else.

 

[Champ]

I was impressed with him yesterday, thought he looked dangerous, played with intensity and worked incredibly hard.

Took his goal very well, was probably the only real bright spot in an otherwise shocker of an afternoon.

 

[RopersReturn]

He’s a great player capable of producing magical creative moments in a game like the wonderful goal he scored yesterday.
He also has on field energy and imagination similar to deBruyne and Firminho, which is a huge asset for the team.

 

[Adam-Utd]

When he signed I saw a lot of Youtube videos of him dribbling really well, going both directions.

Why isn’t he running at players for us?

Think it's mainly he's a new player at a huge club on the biggest stage of them all. He's playing cautiously because he doesn't want to screw up.

Sometimes people need a little bedding in time to feel comfortable. You saw though as the game went on he was becoming riskier in his play. Eventually he just said screw it and cut in and slammed it at goal, where as before he'd look to pass inside or keep the ball moving etc.

There is way more to come from him, but he's not exactly playing badly either. His base level is good and works very hard.

 

[Raiden Shogun]

Ability to be able to cross, provide creativity in the team, can score goals, can pass, and has work rate. I thought we were getting those from Sancho, turn up we are getting those from Antony, while Sancho doesn't provide any of what I expected him to offer. For early starts, there are signs of positive about him. I heard there was debate between Sancho or Antony about who's going to take no 7 next season? Well, I am more leaning towards Antony to take it.

I said this before. I don't think either are the explosive type wingers but Antony has that attitude about him, he's a fighter and will make things happen as we saw vs a far superior City, that goal was amazing. Once ten Hag has the players playing in his style and the players are more comfortable, I hope we get to see some of that Brazilian flair from Antony - we know he has it.

Sancho is probably the more talented of the two and showed more in his career at Dortmund but talent isn't enough at this level without the correct mentality and attitude. The difference in how both players approached their career at United is night and day.

 

[Borys]

He was quite decent. He moves with the ball in a way that drawns defenders attention and creates space for others to run. I think he will be more useful against packed defenses.
He has a good first touch, but is not fast for a winger. Still, exciting player in those early days.

 

[Lyng]

I was impressed with him yesterday, thought he looked dangerous, played with intensity and worked incredibly hard.

Took his goal very well, was probably the only real bright spot in an otherwise shocker of an afternoon.

If everyone on our team had his fire and intensity we would be a much better side.

 

[Champ]

If everyone on our team had his fire and intensity we would be a much better side.

Definitely agree with you on this.

 

[Lecland07]

Standards for geatness have seriously dropped here.

I'm all in for giving him time, that's pretty obvious he deserves some before having any definitive opinion about him, and he's not responsible for his transfer tag. But lets not pretend he was great or brilliant outside of a very nice goal today, he was totally transparent for half of the game and OK+ in the second half. The best out of a very bad bunch maybe, nothing more than that.

Have to agree with this. People do tend to go over top.

I forgot he was even on the pitch until he scored - he wasn't really involved at all. The goal was great and saved what was going to be a pretty bad game from him. He did play better afterwards, but with the caveat that Man City had gone from 5th gear to 1st.

It was a great goal, and shows he does at least have that in his locker, which is promising. I don't see the need to overpraise the performance, though. Need to see a lot more from him in the future than what he showed there.

 

[evil_geko]

so, you're telling me you are spending 100M on a winger who won't try to dribble plast one player either to get to the inside and help the right back to have space or get a good chance to make a good cross? And I'm not saying he doesn't have to do it all the time, watch the game again and see how many times he didn't even try once. If he lost the ball trying it can be normal, it even happens to prime Messi. The problem is the lack of determination, because he has the skill to do it. No one is expecting him to be prime Neymar, but if you wanna compete you need to at least try to break the defense. Even Grealish did it against Dalot ffs.

People are saving him for turning on when game was already lost and city slowed down? That's being a popcorn fan.

He just came into the league ffs, of course he will try to play it safe at first while he integrates into the team, bloody hell there is literally no patience for anyone in football anymore, just instant results, instant impact or else you are terrible, get rid, shite etc.

And feck off everyone that keep repeating 100m price tag like that is some magical indication of how he is supposed to perform, no one gives a feck about price, that price is literally because of circumstances where it was too late in the window, Ajax had no replacement etc, it is not his actual value, even if you take in consideration inflated market. I am tired of people repeating price and expecting performances based on that, do you really have that simplistic view on football?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

If everyone on our team had his fire and intensity we would be a much better side.

Never mind the whole team, if our other attacking players could match his workrate we’d be a hell of a lot better off. According to fbref he made 18 pressures yesterday. The two chumps who’ve been dropped from the England team made 16 pressures between them. Needless to say he also made more tackles and interceptions than the pair of them combined. Most shocking of all, he racked up more than double the amount of their combined total number of touches (and not far off three times as many passes!).

We all know Ronaldo has become a bit of a meme for strikers that don’t work hard enough but Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee seem to be taking this as some sort of challenge to see who can be the laziest attacking player in the league.

EDIT: I made a bollox of the touches/passes stats. He actually just matches their combined totals for both. Didn’t double/triple them. Still though…

 

[bosnian_red]

Standards for geatness have seriously dropped here.

I'm all in for giving him time, that's pretty obvious he deserves some before having any definitive opinion about him, and he's not responsible for his transfer tag. But lets not pretend he was great or brilliant outside of a very nice goal today, he was totally transparent for half of the game and OK+ in the second half. The best out of a very bad bunch maybe, nothing more than that.

It's not so much about his performance, more so about the talent he showed IMO. He has a Bernardo Silva-esque level of technique with his left foot, can hold the ball under pressure, can shimmy and release a pass/cross/shot really quickly and that always goes really far. And his work rate is great. I have little doubts that he'll be an excellent player long term and he showed a lot of great qualities yesterday against the best opponents out there, even if was only "ok" IMO.

 

[poleglass red]

Bar the goal thought he was very poor. Offered no protection to full back at all. I thought he was bought as he fitted the ETH model of high press and energy. Very reluctant to take his man on for some reason. He'll learn from this game.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Bar the goal thought he was very poor. Offered no protection to full back at all. I thought he was bought as he fitted the ETH model of high press and energy. Very reluctant to take his man on for some reason. He'll learn from this game.

Aye. He had a bit of Nani off form type of performance. The beauty of that goal and technique of scoring didn't reflect his overall input.

Not only he must learn from this game, there were seriously bad performances all over the place from much experienced players. Antony had literal days to get ready for first United match when the deal was done, went off the plane and immediately started vs Arsenal.

Chemistry and will to fight will be key for this team to have any type success. Same goes to Sancho who knows Manchester better than many of his teammates.

 

[DarkXaero]

It also happened when we were 0-0, 1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 though

We had like 25% possession, and the ball was constantly being given away by our midfielders. Hard to stand out when your team can't get you the ball or build any sort of momentum.

 

[TheNewEra]

We had like 25% possession, and the ball was constantly being given away by our midfielders. Hard to stand out when your team can't get you the ball or build any sort of momentum.

In a fluid team he will be great, the clever pass to Dalot gave Dalot so much time on the flank

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Never mind the whole team, if our other attacking players could match his workrate we’d be a hell of a lot better off. According to fbref he made 18 pressures yesterday. The two chumps who’ve been dropped from the England team made 16 pressures between them. Needless to say he also made more tackles and interceptions than the pair of them combined. Most shocking of all, he racked up more than double the amount of their combined total number of touches (and not far off three times as many passes!).

We all know Ronaldo has become a bit of a meme for strikers that don’t work hard enough but Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee seem to be taking this as some sort of challenge to see who can be the laziest attacking player in the league.

That is just shocking.

Sancho/Rashford need a rocket up their a**.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

That is just shocking.

Sancho/Rashford need a rocket up their a**.

I missed the second half. Rewatching it now. I’m 10 minutes in and it’s genuinely making me furious how shit they’re playing. The rest of the team have actually upped their game a bit and City are finding it difficult to get out of their half. But the two of them are fecking strolling around, in their matching yellow boots, making a mess of almost every move they get involved in. They’re so crap it looks like deliberate sabotage. Beyond belief, it really is. Two local lads, playing in a derby! What is going on inside their heads?!

 

[Hugh Jass]

I missed the second half. Rewatching it now. I’m 10 minutes in and it’s genuinely making me furious how shit they’re playing. The rest of the team have actually upped their game a bit and City are finding it difficult to get out of their half. But the two of them are fecking strolling around, in their matching yellow boots, making a mess of almost every move they get involved in. They’re so crap it looks like deliberate sabotage. Beyond belief, it really is. Two local lads, playing in a derby! What is going on inside their heads?!

I gave up watching after the second goal on sunday so didnt see most it.

The thing about the pressing game is that every player must be at it. If one player isnt, it doesnt work. Attack starts with your goaly and defending starts with the striker as Cruyff put it.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

The result will disguise the absolute peach he scored.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

56th minute and Ederson miscues a clearance miles up in the air, just after we got a goal back. Rashford stands still and watches while the ball drops out of the sky, giving Aki a free header deep inside his own box, just two yards away from Rashford. The mind fecking boggles. It really does.

 

[The United]

Never mind the whole team, if our other attacking players could match his workrate we’d be a hell of a lot better off. According to fbref he made 18 pressures yesterday. The two chumps who’ve been dropped from the England team made 16 pressures between them. Needless to say he also made more tackles and interceptions than the pair of them combined. Most shocking of all, he racked up more than double the amount of their combined total number of touches (and not far off three times as many passes!).

We all know Ronaldo has become a bit of a meme for strikers that don’t work hard enough but Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee seem to be taking this as some sort of challenge to see who can be the laziest attacking player in the league.

I have said it many times that Ronaldo's inability to fit in the team's play at this stage and his age are not hugely important as the guy will be gone soon enough. The bigger problem has always been the younger forwards, who may have a longer future here. And if you think about it, the guy who can't be named had exactly the same problem, with all his undoubted talents. It is very weird that our youth players who make it to the first team are usually known to be hard workers.