Manchester United vs Real Betis

Antony comes to life! Man Utd winners & losers as Red Devils bounce back from Liverpool demolition with much-needed victory over Real Betis

Richard Martin
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Antony Manchester United Betis 2022-23
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The Brazilian helped redeem himself with a superb goal in the 4-1 win over Real Betis while Bruno Fernandes also did himself proud.

This was a night to heal the wounds of Anfield and two of the biggest scapegoats from the 7-0 mauling on Merseyside came out swinging against Real Betis.

Antony was electrifying down the right wing and scored a brilliant goal which put United in command again after they had gifted Betis a way back into the game, when Ayoze Perez's controversial goal cancelled out Marcus Rashford's opening strike.

Bruno Fernandes, meanwhile, showed he can indeed be an inspiring captain as well as a talismanic presence in midfield.

The Portuguese topped his performance off with a goal before Wout Weghorst made amends for a series of misses by scoring the fourth goal.

However, David de Gea looked very uncomfortable on the ball and the visiting Spanish fans soured the evening by throwing objects at United supporters.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Old Trafford.

Editors' Picks

  1. WINNER: Antony
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    WINNER: Antony

    The Brazilian gave Betis' defence a torrid time with some brilliant runs down either wing.

    He also worked really hard to win the ball back and make sure he won every 50/50 he went for.

    And when he needed a finish to pull United back into the game, boy did he provide one, curling the ball into the far top corner.

    The forward is sometimes dismissed as a one-trick pony, but what a trick it is.

    He could have scored again in the second half after another incisive run down the right.

  2. LOSER: Claudio Bravo
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    LOSER: Claudio Bravo

    The former Manchester City goalkeeper had a torrid time in England and his bad luck on these isles continued with a feeble display.

    He was clumsy coming out of his area and allowed Fernandes' header to go through his hand.

  4. WINNER: Bruno Fernandes
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    WINNER: Bruno Fernandes

    Forget the goal or even the assist to Antony, Fernandes' finest moment was a gutsy sliding tackle in the first half to halt a Betis counter.

    That got the fans quickly back on his side, the Stretford End bellowing out "Bruno, Bruno".

    Fernandes needed to respond more than anyone else after his credentials as captain had been called into question at Anfield.

    He did himself proud with an inspirational performance, knitting together United's attacks with pin-point passing and playing with bags of energy.

  5. LOSER: David de Gea
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    LOSER: David de Gea

    United's goalkeeper had very few saves to make which meant the other side of his game came under extra scrutiny.

    His kicking was very scrappy and he almost gifted Betis a second goal right before half-time with a careless pass which landed straight at Juanmi.

  7. WINNER: The United fans
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    WINNER: The United fans

    Supporters of many big clubs would have booed their players after being trounced by their greatest rivals.

    But from the moment the team walked out of the tunnel, the fans showed they were on their side.

    They rewarded Fernandes' efforts by chanting his name and gave Antony a great response when he was substituted off.

  8. LOSER: The Betis supporters

    The visiting fans made plenty of noise early in the game but let themselves down with some nasty behaviour towards the end, throwing objects at the nearby United fans.

    Riot police had to be deployed and some very unsavoury scenes played out, spoiling what should have been a great occasion for one of Spain's most passionate fan bases.

    Let's hope there are no repeat scenes next week at the Estadio Benito Villamarin.