Manchester United won in emphatic style against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League tonight.
However, the big talking point came in the first half when at 0-0, Antony took the ball with his left foot and made two 360-degree turns in what was seen as a spectacular move before executing a pass past your colleague who came out for a goal kick.
Although the fans in the stadium cheered his stunt, Erik Ten Hag shook his head in disapproval.
It was the insiders who really got into their shenanigans, as former footballer Robbie Savage continued to express his dismay long after the deed was done.
“It’s pretty embarrassing,” he said, “to do that with no one near him and then he puts the ball out of play.”
He continued his tirade by saying, “If I were the manager, I wouldn’t be happy. You’re trying to win the game, move the ball quickly.”
“If I was the manager and I did that again, I would drag him down.”
Sure enough, when the players entered the second half, Antony had been replaced.
Other pundits joined in berating Antony with United legend Scholes saying: “I don’t know what he’s doing, it’s just ridiculous. He’s not hitting a man, he’s not entertaining anybody, then he kicks the ball.”
He went on to say, “But that’s the way he plays, but I think he needs to be cut.”
Meanwhile, Owen Hargreaves, who was standing next to Scholes in the studio, added: “If you’re going to do it, the final pass has to be good.”
“With 0-0 you don’t do that. I don’t even think you do that when you’re three or four goals ahead, it’s disrespectful.”
Meanwhile, in his post-match interview, Ten Hag laughed a bit when asked if that was the reason he was substituted at halftime before insisting that it wasn’t.
After the game, Hargreaves continued while presenting on BT Sport: “We all like to see the skill, but the point is you need to be skillful with the feature.”
Scholes insisted, “I don’t think that’s skill or entertainment, that’s just being a clown.”
Either way, United put on a good show tonight and will be looking forward to the last game of the group stage against Real Sociedad.
