Ten Hag was right about Antony.

Antony is thriving in La Liga.

Erik ten Hag may have been wrong to let Manchester United sign Antony for over £80m, but he was right to believe his former Ajax pupil could make a difference at Old Trafford. At 25, Antony still has time to develop into one of the most exciting strikers in the world .

Better performance than Yamal and Vinicius

After a lackluster spell at Manchester United, Antony is surprising the football world with his explosive form in La Liga for Real Betis. In just the first few months of 2025, the Brazilian striker has scored more goals in the Spanish top flight than both Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr.

Since arriving in La Liga, Antony has scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists in 7 appearances, achieving a ratio of 297 minutes/goal or assist. In the same period, Yamal has only 1 goal and 1 assist, while Vinicius has only 2 goals in La Liga.

From a controversial contract at MU with only 12 goals in 96 matches, Antony has now become one of the most in-form strikers in Europe in the early stages of 2025. With 4 goals and 4 assists in 11 appearances for Betis in all competitions, the Brazilian striker has helped the Andalusian club transform in attack.

After an unstable start to the season, Betis can now dream of a Champions League spot and the Conference League title this season, having reached the quarter-finals. In the match that took place on the evening of March 16, during Betis' difficult away trip to Leganes, Antony did not score or assist but left many impressions.

Real Betis were 0-2 down after just the first half, but with the brilliance of Isco and especially Antony, the team led by coach Manuel Pellegrini came back to win 3-2.

Antony's heatmap and score of 7.7 after Betis beat Leganés 3-2 on the evening of March 16.

Antony played the full 90 minutes, created 1 clear scoring opportunity, and made 6 decisive passes to facilitate his teammates.

The 2000-born star also made 4 accurate crosses and 4 successful dribbles - the best numbers of the match. He was rated 7.7 by SofaScore , confirming his important role in the home team's comeback victory.

Revival of form

Antony's confidence and efficiency at Betis was something that was rarely seen during his time at Manchester United. With 75 touches, a passing accuracy of 87%, and impressive link-up play, Antony showed he was living up to the expectations placed on him during his time at Ajax.

Not only shining in the attacking role, this striker also actively participated in defense, winning 5/9 duels and making an important clearance to help Real Betis secure victory in round 28 of La Liga.

With Real Betis currently only nine points off the top five of La Liga - a potential Champions League spot next season - Antony will be a key factor in helping the team continue to fly high. Antony's form has also made MU fans happy, because his value in the transfer market will increase, opening up the opportunity for the "Red Devils" to recover part of their investment this summer.

Antony was heavily criticised in England for his poor form and his disproportionate transfer fee. But now, in La Liga, he is rewriting his own story. With every goal, every excellent performance, Antony proves that he is still the talented player that Ten Hag said he was a few years ago.

There are so many factors that influence a player’s success or failure at a new club. From the transfer fee, luck, playing environment and even the different weather between England and Spain as Antony recently shared.

But there is no denying that many players are shining after leaving Manchester United. And it is clear that Antony's poor performance at Old Trafford is not just down to himself or Ten Hag's coaching style.

Bruno Fernandes shined on the day MU won big against Leicester. In the early morning of March 17, Bruno scored 1 goal and 2 assists to help MU defeat host Leicester 3-0 in round 29 of the Premier League.

Source: https://znews.vn/ten-hag-da-dung-ve-antony-post1538785.html