Manchester United fans will have been on cloud nine on Monday after witnessing a sensational comeback at Manchester City.
Excitement around Ruben Amorim getting the better of Pep Guardiola really ramped up in November.
Amorim beat Guardiola’s City 4-1 in the Champions League just days before arriving to take charge of Manchester United.
Repeating the trick on Sunday was never going to be easy; not with this United squad, not at the Etihad Stadium.
Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out by Amorim in a huge call – and United secured the win without them.
City weren’t exactly at their best but were leading 1-0 late in the day before Amad Diallo made himself a hero.
Bruno Fernandes hails Manchester United substitute
Amad won a penalty for Bruno Fernandes’ equaliser before the Ivorian won it late on, completing United’s comeback with a superb goal.
Bruno has hailed substitute Victor Lindelof for his late impact but the Swede wasn’t the only substitute to catch the captain’s eye.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Bruno suggested that Antony was ‘brilliant’ coming off the bench.
The Brazilian wide man has come in for major criticism ever since his big move from Ajax in 2022.
Antony has been sharp off the bench recently though, not just against City but also against Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Bruno has now offered praise to Antony, suggesting that he was ‘really good’ as a substitute on Sunday afternoon.
“Antony, once again, brilliant from the bench – he was really good,” said Bruno.
Position change could prolong Antony’s United career
A couple of decent performances isn’t going to change the narrative around Antony at United.
There is no getting away from the fact that Antony has been a huge disappointment and an enormous investment gone wrong.
Antony has shown that he is willing to play at wing back under Amorim though, either on the left or right flank.
Not only has Antony shown some promising moments on the ball, especially linking up with Amad down the right, but he dug in to help United hold onto the win at City.
That willingness to help the team will certainly go down well with Amorim and whilst he may not be the long-term answer in those wing back areas, he can make himself a useful squad player – and prolong his United career a little longer.
We need to see this on a consistent basis from Antony after so many false dawns but Amorim must be encouraged by what he has seen so far.
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