ERIK TEN HAG reckons Antony reminds him of a Chelsea legend after he ended his 15-game Prem goal drought.
The flashy £85.5million Brazilian wideman has copped flak for being too predictable and always cutting inside on to his favoured left foot.
But Antony, 23, scored Manchester United’s opener and made the second for Diogo Dalot to sink struggling Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Injury-hit United go above Newcastle into third — six points clear of fifth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand.
And Ten Hag compared Antony to brilliant former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben.
The Red Devils chief said: “First, I know he can also use his right but he has to do it more. Second, he can also go outside but he is so good on the inside!
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“I’ve seen, for instance, Arjen Robben a lot. They used to say he has only one trick — but that one trick was so brilliant no one can stop it.
“Of course, if you can go both ways you have more variations and you are more difficult to stop.
“But you can also improve the trick that you are really good at.
“His first yards with the ball as he dribbles are so outstanding and so difficult to defend, so he has to keep doing that.”
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Antony made an instant impact — scoring in all three of his first Premier League games following his summer move from Ajax — but the top-flight goals then dried up.
Yet Ten Hag pointed to Antony’s FA Cup goals and his strikes in Europe.
He said: “Antony knows and I know that when you are a striker, you need an end product.
“But already he has a lot of end product — he has scored in all the competitions now.
“Eight or nine goals in his first year at United is not bad and he still has games to go.
“I can’t say he has to do it in every game.
“But in many games if you want to be a top-class player and especially in all the competitions.
“In the Premier League there are a lot of quality defenders and you have to act on a really high level.
“Today was an example where, with both goals, he made the right decisions.
“The goal he made, he was in the right spot, in the right moment to get the rebound.
“The second goal was a great team goal.
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“How we built that up, the way Antony did it to bring the pass and in the right moment.
“The movement from Diogo was fantastic. It was good to see.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
