Fresh off the back of two dismal 3-0 defeats at Old Trafford, Manchester United found solace on the road with a narrow, 1-0 victory over Fulham in the Premier League this afternoon, as Bruno Fernandes struck a late blow at Craven Cottage.
That well-placed strike from the Portuguese playmaker in stoppage time may well have papered over the cracks of another limp showing from Erik ten Hag's men, in truth, with the Red Devils hardly inspiring much confidence for much of the 90-plus minutes.
As such, despite the end result, the former Ajax boss will need to reflect on the overall performance from his side on the day, with £86m man, Antony, among the worst performers yet again in his right-wing berth.
Antony's game vs Fulham in numbers
It remains frankly head-scratching that United forked out such a sizeable fee for a player who seemingly offers nothing in an attacking sense, with another game going by in which the 23-year-old failed to score or register an assist.
With no goal contributions to his name in all competitions this season – as well as just four goals and two assists in the Premier League in total since the start of last season – it beggars belief that Ten Hag continues to select such a misfiring asset week-in, week-out.
While options on the right flank are limited, the one-time Sao Paulo man must find himself ditched moving forward following an "abysmal" performance – according to journalist Samuel Luckhurst – having been hooked after 63 minutes after making few inroads in attack.
The one-footed enigma notably failed to provide a single key pass and completed just one of his four attempted dribbles, while defensively he was also rather suspect, having been branded "pathetic" by TNT Sports pundit Jermaine Jenas in commentary for failing to prevent his compatriot, Willian, from firing at goal in the first half.
His replacement, by contrast, made the most of his limited time on the pitch, with Facundo Pellistri having arguably been Ten Hag's "unsung hero" on the day and now "needs to start games ahead of the woeful Antony", according to Forbes' Sam Pilger.
Facundo Pellistri's stats vs Fulham
As Statman Dave noted on Twitter, the young Uruguayan made a "big difference" after entering the fray off the bench, having even gone close to getting himself on the scoresheet after seeing his weak-foot attempt saved by Bernd Leno at the near post.
While the 5 foot 9 gamechanger was unable to open up his scoring tally for United, he did register a first Premier League assist after teeing up Fernandes for the game's decisive goal, having initially shown real endeavour and fight down the right flank in the build-up to that clincher.
Aside from that stunning contribution, the former Penarol ace did only make 15 touches in total – while also committing two fouls – yet there was enough there for both Ten Hag and supporters to be encouraged by moving forward.
As someone who arguably "offers more than Antony", Pellistri now seemingly just "needs a proper run in the team" – in the words of journalist Jay Motty – having thus far played second fiddle to his fellow South American over the past 18 months or so.
On the evidence of today's showing, however, it must well be time for Antony to be ruthlessly dropped moving forward, with a change in attack needed if United's frontline are to start truly firing this season.
