Troy Deeney says Manchester United have to ‘cut ties’ with Antony and ‘get him out the club’ after yet another poor display in the side’s Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham.
Making only his second start under Ruben Amorim, an ineffective Antony once again looked out of his depth and was hauled off for Amad Diallo after only 55 minutes, with Spurs leading 3-0 in north London.
Shortly after Antony’s departure, United pulled one back through Joshua Zirkzee and the visitors had all the momentum as Amad scored his second in as many games to set up a thrilling finish.
But Son Heung-min netted directly from a corner to give Tottenham a two-goal buffer and the hosts clung on to win 4-3 and book their place in the semi-finals after Jonny Evans’ stoppage-time header.
Ange Postecoglou’s men will battle it out with Liverpool, the defending champions, for a place in the final. Arsenal and Newcastle face off in the other semi-final after their respective victories over Crystal Palace and Brentford.
Analysing United’s showing from the CBS Sports studio, former Watford striker Deeney couldn’t look past Antony’s performance, claiming United’s players suddenly ‘started running’ when the Brazilian was hooked.
‘As soon as Manchester United took Antony off, everybody else started running,’ Deeney said.
‘They’ve got to cut ties with him. I don’t want to make him the scapegoat but, honestly, watching him is so frustrating. This is your big moment.
‘He doesn’t run, he doesn’t sprint… just get him out.
‘If you’re getting rid of Marcus Rashford, whoever is taking him, we’ll pay you to take him [Antony] as well. Get him out the club.’
Deeney could not believe how Tottenham managed to squander such an imperious lead, accusing Postecoglou’s players of ‘inviting pressure’ after being in a position of total control.
‘Tottenham were so in control. Sixty minutes, 3-0 and Manchester United had nothing,’ he added.
‘They had to bring on three subs and they probably didn’t even want to bring those guys on, let’s be totally honest, and Tottenham were in a situation where they were inviting pressure.
‘Going to your goalkeeper should be going to your goalkeeper to come out the other side of play, so if you can pass it to him on the right-hand side, he takes a touch with his right foot, plays it out with his left foot, and you just keep making that team run.
‘They didn’t do that… they took five, six, seven touches, tried to score, they were trying to play with a high line and just inviting pressure.
‘Tottenham’s defenders were running forward. You learn that at four or five years old: no pressure on the ball, stop, back off, give them space. They do everything backwards.’
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