What Antony told his favourite teammate ahead of Manchester United win vs Liverpool FC
Antony has hailed the support of Manchester United teammate Diogo Dalot, admitting he told him ahead of last weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final victory over Liverpool that he was going to score.
After stepping off the bench with 71 minutes on the clock to replace Rasmus Hojlund, the Brazilian plundered his first Old Trafford goal in more than 12 months to make it 2-2 and send the contest to extra-time. He turned sharply inside the penalty area and fired an instinctive finish on his weaker right foot.
United, of course, won the contest in extra-time, scoring through Marcus Rashford, who made it 3-3, and Amad. As a reward, they will now face Coventry City in the last four at Wembley next month.
Despite struggling to make an impact at Old Trafford since his arrival from Ajax in September 2022, Antony has refused to lose faith in his hopes of making his mark in England. And he has admitted that Dalot has played a key role in keeping his spirits up, insisting he is ‘more than a friend’.
I’m very grateful to God and to a friend I talk to a lot,” said Antony, as quoted by United’s club website. “Diogo Dalot is more than a friend to me, he’s a guy who helps me every day at the club.
We have a phrase that we always say to each other: the patient guy is unbeatable. We always talk about it. So I’m very grateful to him for his advice, for the moments we had together talking. He’s a guy who’s helped me a lot.
Before the game, I told Diogo that I felt something different. I felt something good. I felt I was going to score today, so I’m very happy about that.
“With regard to Dalot, as I said, he’s my best friend here at the club. He’s a guy we’re always talking to, he’s always advising me and his mentality is out of the ordinary.”
Lisandro Martinez update emerges that could hand Manchester United major boost for rest of season
Lisandro Martinez could be nearing a return from injury which could prove to be a major boost for Erik ten Hag and co
Erik ten Hag will hope that no other Manchester United player is added to the treatment room after the international break, ahead of the Premier League run-in.
United have been contending with a number of injuries this season in their race to finish in the top five. They remain within an outside chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
But to ensure United finish the season on a high, Ten Hag will need the vast majority of his squad available. Lisandro Martinez will be one of them, having been solely missed by United along with Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Jonny Evans, Altay Bayndir, Omari Forson, Anthony Martial and Tyrell Malacia.
With that said, Ten Hag may have been given an injury boost as MEN Sport has taken a look at the latest surrounding Old Trafford.
According to the Daily Mail, the centre-back is nearing a return to full fitness and has cut short his call-up with Argentina’s national team to return to England on Saturday. Martinez picked up a knee injury shortly after returning from another major injury.
However, he had still been called up for Lionel Scaloni’s squad for their friendly matches against El Salvador and Costa Rica in the USA. Having trained with his Argentina teammates this week, Martinez is hopeful he can make his comeback in United’s Premier League match against Brentford on March 30.
Martinez linked up with the World Cup winners to accelerate his recovery time, knowing that they would have varied, high-level training sessions, the report adds. He took part in full training alongside the likes of Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.
But the 26-year-old is now expected to step up training at Carrington next week.
MEN Sport says: Martinez has been a huge miss for the Red Devils and his return to the camp next week will be a huge boost for Ten Hag and co. as injuries to Harry Maguire, Evans, Shaw and Raphael Varane during the campaign have left the Dutch boss with limited defensive options.
If United are to stage a run for Champions League qualification, Martinez’s return will no doubt aid their attempts.
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