David De Gea cites Antony to take a dig at Erik Ten Hag? Manchester United legend says Brazilian's confidence...

Former Manchester United teammates Antony and David De Gea found themselves on the opposite sides of the pitch when Fiorentina travelled to Real Betis for the first leg of the UEFA Conference League semifinal clash.  Abdessamad Ezzalzouli and Antony found the net to ensure that the homeside finished the game 2-1 ahead of their return leg in Florence.

 

Brazilian winger Antony, who joined the La Liga side on loan in January, continued his fine form by beating De Gea before the post in the 64th minute. The former Ajax star pounced on a blocked rebound and fired a half-volley from outside the box into the far corner to double his team's lead before Luca Ranieri managed to reduce the deficit for Fiorentina nine minutes later.

 

Antony has six goals and four assists in 19 matches for Manuel Pellegrini's Betis which stands sixth in the Spanish top flight with five rounds left. He seems to have found his form again, showing the flair that made him a star at Ajax. He had failed to live up to the expectations at Old Trafford and was often ridiculed as the Premier League team shelled out £81.3 million on him -- the second highest in club history after the £89 million spent for Paul Pogba's services in 2016. He only managed 12 goals across competitions for United since his arrival in 2022. 

 

De Gea, on the other hand, was forced out as Erik Ten Hag wanted a ball-playing goalkeeper at the Theatre of Dreams. The club legend left unceremoniously after 12 years and spent some time without a club before being signed by the Serie A side. The experienced Spaniard had an immediate impact in Italy and has stood strong between the sticks since his arrival in August 2024. 

 

Following the match, De Gea had a few words about his former teammate who is nine years younger than him. The Premier League winner said he feels Antony is brimming with confidence once again as he saw him shooting with his weaker foot -- something he never dared to do even during training sessions in England. The goalkeeper said he was happy for Antony as he has managed to put the bad days behind him.

 

"I trained with Antony 1,000 times and he never scored a goal with his right foot in any training session, but now he is in confidence and is proving the player he is. I'm happy for him because he was coming from a difficult moment at United and now he's showing the best of himself," David De Gea was quoted as saying.

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