Antony has made the first step to vindicating his £86m price tag for Manchester United

It turns out that if you want Antony to perform, you play him against Chelsea every week.

Antony had one of his best games of the season - the bar hasn't been high - against Galatasaray in November, but he was dropped in the next game against Newcastle.

He responded with a laudable display against Chelsea when they visited Old Trafford in the following game and he started against Mauricio Pochettino's side again on Thursday.

Marcus Rashford was named on the bench and Antony was the beneficiary of that decision, with Alejandro Garnacho moving to the left wing. It was an opportunity for Antony to make an impression and he certainly didn't do his reputation any harm by starting brightly.

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Ajax probably couldn't believe their luck when United agreed to sign Antony in a deal worth £86million and, understandably, supporters have seemed to have given up on him.

But at Stamford Bridge under the floodlights, there were signs of a player who could yet still have a future in Manchester, despite having made an awful start at the club.

Antony looked the most likely to create something from the first whistle and he was cutting inside with purpose, which was giving Marc Cucurella a headache.

There was also an urgency about his game that is usually absent. He was notably quick off the mark and a Dutch former Premier League player in the press box suggested that Antony had pace in abundance, so they clearly haven't watched his every appearance in England.

Antony has looked incapable of beating the opposition full-back since his arrival from Ajax, but he looked bright against Chelsea and grew