"There’s a lot of noise and that dropped his levels" - Erik ten Hag defends under-fire Manchester United attacker amid recent struggles
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has backed underfire forward Antony to be the 'right player' for the Red Devils despite the Brazilian's poor run of form right now.
Antony struggled to produce his best against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night as United were beaten 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Miguel Almiron and Lewis Hall scored apiece in the first half to give the Magpies a comfortable 2-0 lead heading into the break. At the hour mark, Joe Willock added a third to put the game beyond doubt as Manchester United crashed out of the domestic cup competition in humiliating fashion.
The defeat also comes just days after their 3-0 home loss to Manchester City in the Premier League as Ten Hag's side have gone off the boil after winning thrice in a row.
Speaking of Antony, he is yet to open his goalscoring account this season, drawing a blank in all 10 games across competitions so far. Signed for an £85.6 million transfer from Ajax last season, the jury is still out on him as the 23-year-old has been inconsistent.
Ten Hag, though, came to Antony's defense in the press conference after United's resounding defeat last night, expressing his confidence in the Brazilian's ability to improve his performances.
"There is also the team, first, the team is not playing well, when they don’t bring him the balls, again, I’m also responsible for that. But, obviously, also, there’s a lot of noise and that dropped his levels. He can do better, but all the players can do better," he said (via Metro).
"Antony is also a fighter, he has the confidence, he is brave, I am confident he will bring the performance that [shows] he is the right player for us," Ten Hag added.
Manchester United next play Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Manchester United have lost eight times in 15 games this season
It's been a rocky start to the 2023-24 campaign for Manchester United, who have now lost eight of their 15 games in all competitions so far, including each of their last two by a score of 3-0.
Having won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup final, and achieved a third-place finish in the Premier League last season, this has been a dramatic decline in form for the Red Devils.
Several key players have underperformed, including Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, who have just three goals and three assists between them. Meanwhile, Jadon Sancho has been frozen after a fall-out with Ten Hag.
These are tough times for the club right now and the Dutch manager's job is on the line. If this run continues, he may not survive in the job much longer.