Antony could be in line for his third Manchester United appearance in Thursday’s Europa League clash with Sheriff Tiraspol.
The Brazilian started his second game in last week’s opening 1-0 competition defeat to Real Sociedad following a dream debut goal against Arsenal the weekend prior. United is without five players for the trip to Moldova, including Donny van de Beek, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and the in-form Marcus Rashford.
It could mean that Antony lines up next to “giant” Cristiano Ronaldo for a second time after doing so in the loss to Sociedad. If the 22-year-old does feature against Sheriff, as is expected, it will be his first time representing the Reds away from home – something he is excited about.
“I always look forward to playing in a United shirt,” he told in-house media. “It’s always a reason to get excited.” Antony did not hide away from last week’s defeat and pledged to bring home United’s first points in the competition.
He added: “Unfortunately, we lost the last home game, [but] we now need to focus 100 percent on the away game and bring the three points home
“We’ll face difficulties [during the season]. We know it will be a tough game. [But] everybody knows about the greatness of Manchester United, so we’ll go on the pitch and honor this important badge.”
Antony is yet to score in the seven Europa League outings across his career but showed his European credentials in the Champions League with Ajax last season, scoring twice and providing four assists in seven matches.
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