David de Gea shocked by Man Utd flop after wonder goal against Fiorentina
David de Gea heaped praise on former Manchester United teammate Antony after he scored a stunning goal against the goalkeeper in the Conference League.
Arguably one of the worst transfers in United’s history, Antony has looked reborn since leaving Old Trafford in January, joining Real Betis on loan.
He continued his great run of form on Thursday night as the Spanish side beat De Gea’s Fiorentina 2-1 in the first-leg of their Conference League semi-final.
Antony grabbed the winner in the 64th minute with a spectacular volley from just outside the box that thundered into the top-right corner.
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What made the strike even more remarkable is that the 25-year-old used his weaker right-foot, something he scarcely did at United and which caught De Gea completely by surprise.
‘I trained with Antony 1,000 times and he never scored a goal with his right foot in any training session, but now he is in confidence and is proving the player he is,’ the keeper said post-match.
‘I’m happy for him because he was coming from a difficult moment at United and now he’s showing the best of himself.’
The second-leg of the semi-final takes place next Thursday in Florence, with the winner advancing to the Conference League final where they’ll likely face Chelsea who beat Djurgardens 4-1 in the first-leg of their tie.
Antony now has six goals and four assists in 19 appearances for Betis, an impressive turnaround after recording just four goals and two assists in his last 18 months at United.
Erik ten Hag signed the Brazil international from his former club Ajax for an initial £82million but he has looked nowhere near a player of that value in the Premier League and will be moved on this summer.
Unsurprisingly, Betis are desperate to sign Antony permanently but it remains to be seen whether they are willing to match the £40m price tag that United have put on him.
Speaking after the Fiorentina win, Betis legend Joaquin believes everything must be done to keep the winger at the club, saying: ‘I’ll provide the car if he has to be kidnapped, but let him stay no matter what!
‘This is the moment to enjoy. I think important moments will come, and we’ll see later.’
As De Gea alludes to, Antony is not the only former Red Devil rediscovering his best form after leaving Manchester, with the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho enjoying their football a lot more at Aston Villa and Chelsea.
De Gea too is doing well after being controversially axed by Ten Hag and replaced by Andre Onana, with the Spaniard conceding just 41 goals in 37 games for Fiorentina this campaign.
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