Antony accused of ignoring Ten Hag’s instructions in Manchester United's defeat to Liverpool

FOOTBALL Antony accused of ignoring Ten Hag’s instructions in Manchester United's defeat to Liverpool

Kiplagat Sang • 18:32 - 07.03.2023

The Brazilian has been pointed out as a major culprit in the Red Devils’ loss.

Former Chelsea manager Glen Hoddle has accused Manchester United forward, Antony of ignoring Erik ten Hag’s instructions during Liverpool’s defeat.

In his post-match reaction after the 7-0 loss, Ten Hag claimed that his players did not stick to their match plan, and Hoddle has now singled out the Brazilian for criticism.

"From the opposite side of the pitch, you’ve got to be level with the ball and stay level with the ball, that’s where his mistake was,’ Hoddle told Premier League Productions, according to Metro.

"You’ve got to stay at least with the ball when you’re on the opposite side, particularly against these two full-backs. His reaction should be to get level with the ball and also goal-side of Robertson.

"If the manager has told him to sit out, it’s not cheating, is it? If the manager has said sit out well, then it’s not worked for them. But if the manager is saying, ‘no, you’ve got to track back’, which he says after in his post-match interview that they didn’t work hard enough, then maybe he was asked to track back. He was out of position all day long."

The retired English manager added that Liverpool targeted Antony’s flank as the Brazilian could not track back and offer more defensive cover.

"I think they [Liverpool] looked at their team because they could have done it down the right-hand side but Fernandes was there, this lad Antony, let’s see if he’ll track back," he added.

"If Fernandes was on the left side, they would’ve probably done it on the other side, that’s how flexible they are. Trent Alexander-Arnold was a lot deeper than normal.

"They were probably waiting for their teamsheet to see which forward they would really send high on one side because Fernandes was doing his job getting back and trying to track Alexander-Arnold."

Anthony is United’s £82 million summer signing from Ajax.