Antony seeking a response at Goodison Park
Antony says Manchester United must impose themselves and show their strength at Everton as Erik ten Hag’s side look to bounce back from last weekend’s hammering at Manchester City.
A four-match winning run in the league came to an abrupt halt for the Red Devils as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden each scored hat-tricks in the highest-scoring Manchester derby ever.
In truth, the 6-3 scoreline flattered United given the one-sided nature of an afternoon that ten Hag’s men followed up with an at times nervy 3-2 victory at Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League.
The Dutchman said that win in Cyprus had to only be the “warm-up” as today’s trip to Everton is where they have to “react” – a mindset echoed by deadlineday arrival Antony.
“We know it’s going to be a difficult,” said the Brazil forward. “My team-mates have already spoken to me about this fixture. They said it will be difficult. We shouldn’t get worked up and let our heads go down because of one game.
“Sadly, we lost the last league game but, when you think about it, we’ve beaten Liverpool and leaders Arsenal.
“Our season can’t be summarised by just one game. We’re now focused on the match against Everton and, God willing, we will get the three points.”
Everton are unbeaten in their past seven matches in all competitions and welcome United buoyed by victories in back-to-back Premier League matches.
Ten Hag’s team stayed in Cyprus an extra day to prepare for today’s Goodison Park encounter, when Antony will attempt to score in a third successive Premier League appearance. “I’ve always worked very hard and the results are a consequence of this,” he added.
“I’ll always give 100%, regardless of whether I score or not. It was nice to score another goal though, unfortunately, we lost. I was training that shot the day before the game.”
Antony has made a promising start to life at United since joining from Ajax five weeks ago for an initial fee of £82.1 million that could rise by another £4.3 million.
The 22-year-old started just three days after joining and enjoyed a dream debut against Arsenal, opening the scoring in a 3-1 win against the Premier League leaders at Old Trafford.