Manchester United are through to the FA Cup final after a win on penalties against Coventry City.
The Red Devils lead 3-0 but in a collapse that should surprise nobody who has watched them this season, had to get the win on penalties.
For any Premier League side, winning this way against Championship opposition who might not even make the playoffs there should be cause for concern.
If nothing else, the “bigger” team on paper should take the victory as a case of alarm bell and work to improve the standards.
Not Antony, and perhaps that is the problem at United.
After the full-time whistle, while the better thing to do would be to acknowledge the Coventry players in a sign of respect as they took United all the way, Antony chose to gloat.
He cupped his ears towards the opposition players and then goaded the fans.
Great line from Clinton Morrison on @bbc5live on Antony goading Coventry fans at the end — "He needs to concentrate on himself because he could be playing the Championship next season…" Brutal, but fair
— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) April 21, 2024
This action would normally be taken as a positive by the fans, who have long said that the team needs “characters”.
However, in this situation, context matters. United were not imperious. They were caught cold by an underdog who took free swings at them and left them dazed.
After a collapse like that, gloating like he has achieved something remarkable speaks volumes of what Antony sees as success.
Even the supporters, who had every right to feel relieved, if not happy, were restrained in their celebrations, such was the standard of performance by the players on the day.
Experts and pundits have bored fans with all the talk of “in my time” but if there was ever an instance to bring that back, it would be for this action.
Gone are the days when Roy Keane, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville used to kick themselves for “only” winning a game and not stamping their authority.
Erik ten Hag’s pet project signing would rather goad the plucky underdog he just scraped past only to be downed convincingly when faced up against somebody of his own size.
Enter, Manchester City in the FA Cup finals. Over to you, Antony. Nobody would mind it if he does the same after a win against Pep Guardiola’s team.
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