Brazilian winger Antony is hoping to repair his reputation while on loan at Real Betis following a turbulent spell at Manchester United. Even though he has only played two games in Spain thus far, things are going well, and the local media has given his most recent performance high marks.
Unfortunately, Antony’s legacy as one of the worst Premier League failures ever was cemented when he left Old Trafford in January. The 24-year-old only managed 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances across all competitions after leaving Ajax for £86 in 2022.
However, Real Betis has already benefited from a few glimpses of the player’s apparent quality, and Man United clearly believed that there was something unique about him to spend so much money on him in the first place.
For his efforts in the 2-2 draw with Athletic Bilbao in his debut, he was named Man of the Match. He was also instrumental in the first goal, as Isco scored the rebound after his original attempt was saved. Personally, I felt that this weekend’s match versus Celta Vigo was even better.
Against Celta Vigo, Antony Shines
One goal, two shots, and two tackles
Antony won another Man of the Match award while playing for Betis, this time starting at right-wing. He saw the same amount of action as his debut, playing for seventy-two minutes, although he opened the score in the match against Celta Vigo.
In the tenth minute of play, the Brazilian maintained composure to score a beautiful left-footed finish into the far corner to give Betis a 1-0 lead. This was his first goal for his loan club. The winger can still be proud even though his team would lose the match 3-2.
With two shots on goal (100% accuracy) and 22/29 passes with 45 touches, he concluded the game with a 7.0 SofaScore rating. He won four of eight attempted duels and put up a lot of defensive effort, recording two tackles.
Spanish Media Full of Praise
Alternate angle of Antony's 1st goal for Real Betis vs Celta Vigo
byu/seekingabeauty insoccer
His skill to shift his body and then produce enough power to finesse the ball into the back of the net for his first La Liga goal appeared to amaze the press in particular. El Desmarque penned:
“Antony’s incredible ankle twist: a great goal full of quality in Balaidos. Antony has fallen to his feet at Betis.”
🚨📸 – 2 MOTMs in his first 2 games for Antony! 👏🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/oWLCS71Kg4
— Frank🧠🇵🇹 (fan) (@AmorimEra_) February 8, 2025
Similarly, Spanish publication AS praised the conclusion, writing: “Antony reacts when Betis is excited: the gesture he makes with his ankle is very magical.”
“Excellent goal from the Brazilian, who places the ball away from Guaita’s reach with a subtle touch, after a very good attack play by Betis,” Cope said in his admiration of the goal.
El Desmarque concluded by providing additional information regarding Antony’s performance, writing:
His remarkable ankle turn is what distinguishes him as a football player and highlights his vast resources. He began strong, but as the minutes went by, he dropped the piston and became less accurate with the ball.
Antony’s life on loan has started off excitingly. Fans might recall, though, that he only scored twice more in his next 59 Premier League games after managing to score one goal in each of his first three appearances. In light of this, he will have to be more reliable if he wants to succeed in La Liga.
