Antony dedicates Man Utd goal vs Everton to his family after struggling with ‘personal matter’

• Antony broke deadlock against Everton
• Dedicated goal to his family
• Winger dealing with “shock” of “personal matter”

WHAT HAPPENED? Antony opened the scoring in the 3-1 victory at Old Trafford on Friday when he slid in at the back post to divert a low cross from Marcus Rashford into the net. Speaking after the game, the 22-year-old mentioned he had been dealt a “shock” by something that happened in his personal life, but would not go into detail as he expressed his joy at scoring his fourth goal for United.

WHAT THEY SAID: “Of course, the most important is United’s qualification to the next stage. I also feel relieved as in the last days I had a shock, but I prefer not to comment on what happened,” he said to TNT Sports. “It was a personal matter, really hard, but I’m very grateful to God for putting that behind me now, grateful to the club, to the players, to the manager, everyone stayed by my side. It’s in the past now, I’m happy to score and I hope to keep going like this because this is a year of a lot of achievements and wins.

“This is my mindframe now, I’m 100 percent focused on honouring the fans and the club. We all know the size of this club and we want to put United back to where it deserves. This goal came at the perfect timing for me. It was a really, really difficult moment for me days ago. But God has always been on my side and I’m grateful also to my family. I dedicate this goal to them, it’s in moments like these that you know who really loves you.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: United progressed to the fourth round of the competition with the victory against the Toffees. Erik ten Hag’s men are still in contention to win the FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League, while they sit in fourth place in the Premier League.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED? Antony and his fellow Red Devils are in action again on Tuesday when they take on Charlton in the League Cup quarter-finals.