"He seems very immature on the pitch" - Paul Parker makes interesting claim on why fans are 'disappointed' with Manchester United star
Former Manchester United right-back Paul Parker understands fans' impatience with their 'immature' new winger Antony. The Brazilian has endured a somewhat slow start to life at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old Brazilian attacker arrived at United from Ajax in the summer for £85 million. His stock rose at the Johan Cruff Arena, where he made 82 appearances, scoring 24 goals and providing 22 assists.
Antony began his Red Devils career by becoming the first player in the club's history to score in his first three Premier League games. However, he has come off the boil since then and has increased that tally to five goals in 17 games across competitions.
Nice sunday, Red Devils!! 🔥🔥🔴
@ManUtd
@ManUtd_PT https://t.co/gDqptNncyT
Parker understands why fans may be disappointed with the Brazilian but has stressed that the winger needs time to adapt to the English game. He told Soccernews:
"Antony has done okay for Man United. He hasn’t been amazing, but he is also young and needs to adapt to the Premier League."
Parker then touched on why fans are becoming impatient with Antony by suggesting that he's not the player they envisioned:
"But honestly, I think that the vast majority of the fans have been disappointed by him. They expected a different kind of player. They expected him to be very quick and run past defenders, but he hasn’t really done that."
He continued by claiming that the Brazilian seems immature when playing and that he lacks confidence in beating defenders:
"I personally think that he is thinking too slow, and he seems very immature on the pitch. He needs to beat people more and believe in himself because he has the abilities to be a very good winger for Man United."
Manchester United legend Dimitar Berbatov praises former side for Manchester City win
Manchester United secured a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over neighbours Manchester City in the derby on Saturday (January 14).
Pep Guardiola's side took the lead through Jack Grealish's header. However, Bruno Fernandes scored a contentious equaliser before Marcus Rashford slotted home a close-range winner. That sent fourth-placed United to within a point of second-placed City.
Berbatov was impressed by the performance and how Erik ten Hag's side fought back to claim victory, telling Premier League Productions:
"They are a proper team and look like one, that's why I said this win is important, but even more important for how they achieve it because, to be 1-0 down against City, that's a big deal."
Manchester United became the first Premier League team since March 2021 to overturn a 1-0 City lead. Berbatov said about that:
"Not many teams can overcome that sort of result. But when you do it, that gives you even more confidence and reason to be happy after the game and to know you are in the right direction building team spirit we saw."
Amazing noise at the Stretford End 💥 https://t.co/T1Uby6cnIE
A trip to Selhurst Park to face Crystal Palace is next up for the Red Devils on Wednesday (January 18). They will then face league leaders Arsenal four days later.