"Thinks he's prime Cristiano Ronaldo" - Fans blast Manchester United attacker for 'terrible' performance in 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest

Manchester United fans on X slammed Antony after he failed to have an impact during their 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, December 30.

The first half was fairly uneventful in the Premier League clash at the City Ground. Neither team looked particularly threatening in attack, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka's deflected attempt being the only shot on target.

The Red Devils were unlucky not to take the lead in the 55th minute when Diogo Dalot's strike crashed against the post. Nicolas Dominguez gave the hosts the lead nine minutes later with a sweeping finish into the bottom-left corner.

Forest looked in complete control after their opener, however, some poor distribution by Matt Turner allowed Manchester United to get back into the game. The former Arsenal shot-stopper's pass was easily intercepted by Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentine squared the ball to Marcus Rashford, who found the bottom-right corner with his first touch in the 78th minute.

The home side grabbed the winner four minutes later following a devastating counter-attack. Anthony Elanga cut inside and found Morgan Gibbs-White, who curled the ball brilliantly into the bottom-right corner to seal all three points for Forest.

Manchester United fans were furious with Antony's performance. The 23-year-old was largely ineffective on the right wing, creating zero big chances, attempting zero shots, and was dispossessed four times. Moreover, he lost six duels and completed just one of his three attempted dribbles before being substituted in the 54th minute for Amad Diallo.

Antony has scored just one goal in 33 Premier League games in 2023 and is yet to register a goal contribution in 22 appearances across all competitions this season. The Brazilian has failed to justify the reported €95 million Manchester United paid to sign him from Ajax in the summer of 2022.

One fan accused him of attempting to be like prime Cristiano Ronaldo:

"Worst thing about Antony is he thinks he’s prime Cristiano Ronaldo."

Another fan called Antony the worst signing in the club's history:

"Antony is the by far the worst player we’ve ever signed, terrible terrible player. We will be lucky to get half the money back we paid for him."

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How did Manchester United fare in their 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest?

Manchester United suffered their ninth defeat in 20 league games as they fell to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Nottingham Forest on Saturday. They remain seventh in the Premier League standings with 31 points from 20 games, 11 points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand. Let's take a look at how both teams performed.

Erik ten Hag and Co. edged Nottingham Forest in possession with 55 percent of the ball. They also attempted a total of 478 passes, with an accuracy of 81 percent. In contrast, the home side had 45 percent possession and attempted 394 passes with an accuracy of 78 percent.

Manchester United looked more threatening in attack but they were unable to make the most of their chances. They registered a total of 10 shots, with five being on target. On the other hand, Forest had eight shots in total, with two being on target.