Manchester United forward Antony needs to respond to unfair Liverpool FC comparison

It was supposed to be a day that showed how far Manchester United had come, but instead it showed them what could have been.

All the hard work and progress made under Erik ten Hag soon went out of the window as Liverpool struck seven unanswered goals last Sunday, and the extent of United's recent resurgence was brought into question.

United's beating was made even harder to take given that it was at the hands of their biggest rivals, but also because two players they could have signed themselves were on the scoresheet.

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The club had a genuine interest in signing Darwin Nunez last summer but were put off by his enormous price tag, while Cody Gakpo was passed on in favour of a move for top target Antony.

In the wake of the Anfield defeat, Antony's impact has been compared to Gakpo's. It's a a natural comparison given both players were signed from the Eredivisie, are wingers and are the same age, yet it is also an unfair one.

Antony was signed because he is a left-footed forward to address United's long-term need for a proper right-winger, while Gakpo has shone predominantly in an inverted role on the left, an area in which United are already top-heavy..

It is this key difference that also makes their output unfair to compare. Gakpo netted 21 goals last season, while Antony managed just 12. Since arriving in January, the Liverpool forward already has more league goals than the United forward has since he joined last summer.

What is fair to compare, though, is the price paid. Liverpool managed to sign Gakpo for up to £45m even after his World Cup exploits for the Netherlands, while United agreed to an enormous £85m fee for a raw player with a lot of room to grow.

Antony should