Erik ten Hag agrees with opinion on Antony at Manchester United

Erik ten Hag believes Antony has greater motivation after a spell out of the Manchester United side.

Antony impressed on his recall to the starting XI against Chelsea, earning a ninth-minute penalty that Bruno Fernandes had saved by Robert Sanchez.

Ten Hag did not start Antony in four successive games after he was cheered off by some United supporters in the 1-0 win at Fulham on November 4 but he stood out on his return to the team in the 3-3 draw with Galatasaray last week.

The £86.3million Brazilian was benched for the listless defeat to Newcastle and was one of the few to emerge with any credit after his emergence in the 61st minute.

When this correspondent suggested Antony had benefited from a spell on the sidelines, Ten Hag replied: "I think it's a very good opinion, I agree.

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"He is progressing as the team is progressing but this is the attitude, what he needs, what he has to contribute to the team. He was very bright, he got very good positions on the ball, he also made very good decisions and he's stepping up. He has to build on this."

Despite losing 10 of their 22 games this season, United's run of six wins in their last eight Premier League games has taken them to within three points of faltering champions Manchester City, winless in their last four league fixtures.

United entertain Bournemouth on Saturday and next week conclude their Champions League group stage against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Tuesday before heading to face Liverpool at Anfield, where they have not won since January 2016.

Ten Hag was amused by the mention of crises at United this season. "Crisis? Not for us. We