Erik ten Hag is going against his own advice with Antony persistence at Manchester United

Craven Cottage is a relatively docile stadium and so it was easy to hear the travelling Manchester United supporters on Saturday as they cheered the removal of Antony.

For want of another senior option, the Brazilian retained his place in the starting line-up despite doing little to justify it in Wednesday's 3-0 Carabao Cup defeat against Newcastle. And for an hour at Fulham, he was equally ineffective, noticed only when taking his frustration out on others.

United's more vocal fans have little issue expressing their feelings towards a substitution. They have regularly called for Alejandro Garnacho to come off the bench with chants of 'Viva Garnacho', booed the removal of Rasmus Hojlund and groaned when he is replaced by Anthony Martial.

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And so when the board went up on 63 minutes to show Antony's No.21 in red and Facundo Pellistri's No.28 in green, a chorus of cheers came from the away end. The hooked winger cut a frustrated figure on the substitutes bench and in all honesty, had little to smile about.

Pellistri had less than half of Antony's minutes on Saturday and yet played a pivotal role in Bruno Fernandes' winner. The 21-year-old was dogged in his pressing of Fulham's defenders, their panicked attempts to clear eventually falling to the United captain who jinked onto his right foot and arrowed past Bernd Leno.

And that is what Pellistri has tended to do when called upon, grabbing any chance he gets off the bench. It's never been perfect from the Uruguayan but there has always been promise.

“Of course he can make it, but you have to deserve it,” Ten Hag said of