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Bryan Robson did it with a little help from Frank Stapleton. Mark Hughes did it. Paul Scholes too. Now Antony’s name is added to the list of Manchester United players who have brought Barcelona to its knees.
The Brazilian was not a starter in the second leg of this Europa League play-off. But his half-time appearance helped breathe new life into United when compatriot Fred canceled out Robert Lewandowski’s penalty two minutes after the restart.
Then, in the 73rd minute, the decisive moment of this momentous tie arrived. Luke Shaw kept the ball in play against Stretford End and Bruno Fernandes, as influential as he was unpredictable here, teeed off Alejandro Garnacho.
His shot was blocked by Andreas Christensen and so was Fred’s follow-up by Frenkie de Jong. The ball fell to Antony, who kept his cool as he guided the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen from the edge of the box.
On the touchline, Erik ten Hag raised two clenched fists. In the stands, Sir Alex Ferguson was congratulated by his old rival Howard Wilkinson.
Antony (R) completed a sensational second half substitution for Manchester United against Barcelona on Thursday night.
Robert Lewandowski initially opened the scoring for Barcelona in their Europa League play-off tie against the Red Devils.
Lewandowski swept a penalty to put Barca ahead 3-2 on aggregate after Bruno Fernandes fouled Alejandro Balde.
Fernandes had previously turned down a glorious early chance to put United ahead on such a crucial night at Old Trafford.
So it is United who advance to the Europa League round of 16 after inflicting Barca’s first defeat in 19 games dating back to mid-October. And United, who reach Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Newcastle with great success.
Antony will grab the headlines after following in the footsteps of Robson and Stapleton in ’84, Hughes in ’91 and Scholes in ’08, but Ten Hag and all his players deserve credit. On both legs, they were the better team.
Ten Hag had been preparing for this from the moment the final whistle was blown in Sunday’s win over Leicester here, rallying the crowd as he walked off the pitch at Old Trafford before arranging for dinner with Ferguson midweek.
There was no need to cheer the fans back on as excitement began to build around the stadium long before the start of a game that seemed bigger than the prize at stake.
“This is a great match, all of Europe is watching, it’s like a Champions League match,” Ten Hag said before kick-off.
The only disappointment was that United were not starting with an advantage after playing so well in a heart-pounding first leg at the Camp Nou last week.
Ten Hag again opted for a 4-1-4-1 to try to curb Barça’s style in midfield, but this time used Wout Weghorst as a more conventional striker.
It meant United lacked the kind of penetration they have with Marcus Rashford in the same role, and their best chance of a disappointing first half came and went in the third minute.
Casemiro spotted an unmarked Fernandes on the right and lobbed a pass into the Portuguese’s path as he galloped. Fernandes had Weghorst and Jadon Sancho inside but decided to launch himself at goal from a tricky angle, and Ter Stegen saved with his right foot. It was not the only bad judgment that Fernandes showed before halftime.
Barça responded moments later with a skilful move that ended with Raphinha’s shot narrowly, and already had the same feeling as in the first leg.
The key difference was that United were unable to exert the same control or pose the same threat as they did at the Camp Nou in the first 45 minutes.
Veteran Champions League player Sergio Busquets, returning from injury to lead his team, brought an air of calm to the Catalans and De Jong worked overtime to quell any danger.
But United turned the game around after the break, with Fred leveling them two minutes after the restart.
Fred’s superb shot from long range made it 3-3 on aggregate and turned the momentum in favor of the home side.
That was before Antony scored the all-important winner for Erik ten Hag’s men with a curling effort in the 73rd minute.
The 22-year-old was United’s hero in Manchester, sending them to the Europa League round of 16 at Barca’s expense.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka got past Busquets once, but his pass went wide, and Fred nearly caught Ter Stegen when his first cross went through the roof of the net. But that was it.
Having caused such chaos in Spain, Rashford was a peripheral figure. The only time he caused any real trouble was in the fifth minute when he was brought down on the edge of the box by a clumsy free kick from Busquets.
French referee Clement Turpin took no action, which was a bit painful after the Italian referee decided not to show Jules Kounde a red card for his tackle on Rashford in a similar area of the pitch in the first leg.
The anger of the United fans turned to fury when Turpin signaled the penalty spot at the other end on 16 minutes. In fairness to the referees, Fernandes should have known better than to hook Alejandro Balde’s left arm as he chased a loose ball to the edge of the box after Raphael Varane headed in a Raphinha cross. Balde was moving away from goal and posed little danger, which made Fernandes’ challenge all the more perplexing.
Lewandowski waited patiently for VAR control and the inevitable protests before placing the ball to David de Gea’s left. The United goalkeeper was right and reached for the ball, but he couldn’t help it.
It could have been even worse for United before half time when Sergi Roberto intercepted a terrifying pass from De Gea in front of goal. Lisandro Martínez did just enough to hold him before Casemiro put his body in the way of Franck Kessie’s shot.
Ten Hag sent Antony in for Weghorst at half-time, playing Rashford up the middle and injecting more pace down the flanks.
It paid off less than two minutes after the restart. United’s high pressure recovered the ball on the edge of the Barça area and Sancho fed Fernandes. His pass was intended for Antony on the right, but Fred intercepted it as he broke through through the middle and the ball sat nicely for him to beat Ter Stegen with a half-volley.
Fernandes’ over-enthusiasm almost got the better of him just before the hour mark when he pounded the ball into De Jong’s body after the Dutchman went down under a joint challenge from Antony and Wan-Bissaka, prompting a length to body than United captain a reserve
De Gea prevented Barça from retaking the lead by deflecting a Kounde header off De Jong’s cross, and that was the starting gun for Ten Hag to make another attacking change, sending out Garnacho and Diogo Dalot.
Again it was worth it. United attacked, Antony scored and Old Trafford went wild.
Barça leaves Manchester crestfallen despite being 45 minutes away from moving on to the next phase of the competition
Ten Hag will be delighted with United’s turnaround in the second half, which gives them momentum ahead of the Carabao Cup final.