Antony returned to first-team training with Manchester United ahead of their Champions League clash with Galatasaray, having met with police to discuss female assault allegations
Video Loading
Video Unavailable
Erik ten Hag previews Galatasaray game
Erik ten Hag has named Antony on the bench for Manchester United’s must-win Champions League clash with Galatasaray.
The Brazilian winger returned to England last week and met with Greater Manchester Police to discuss allegations of assault by two women in a formal interview. Antony, 23, had been given a leave of absence last month and promptly returned to his homeland.
United manager Ten Hag has only made one change to his starting XI by replacing Facundo Pellistri with fellow youngster Hannibal Mejbri, despite United’s miserable 1-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday, which Antony attended with his child.
Ten Hag confirmed on Monday that the 23-year-old would be able able to return, saying: “Antony will be in consideration. Yesterday was his first time in team training. We have a final training [session] and then we’ll make a decision.”
Andre Onana remains between the posts for Tuesday’s match, despite new goalkeeper Altay Bayindir still awaiting his debut and Onana already conceding 15 goals this season. “We also have to progress Altay, that’s clear,” Ten Hag told reporters. “He makes a very good impression in training, he’s really developing, progressing, so we’re very happy with that and we are convinced we have the two right goalkeepers in our squad to do the job for us.”
Have your say! Will Manchester United beat Galatasaray? Let us know your score prediction in thecomments section.
Antony attended an interview with Greater Manchester Police upon his return to England last week (
Image:
Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Marcus Rashford also starts amid criticism of his poor performances. Despite much of the focus being on how his side performs, Ten Hag is wary of the threat which Galatasaray may pose. “Absolutely, we know that they are [dangerous],” the Red Devils boss affirmed.
“But it’s not only [Wilfried] Zaha and [Mauro] Icardi, there is also Dries Mertens, if Hakim Ziyech is available, if Tete [is]. so they have more good players. Angelino can be very offensive and creative, [Kerem] Demirbay [can too] so it’s about [the] team and we have to defend that as a team, we will be aware we have to play our best to get the right result.”
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Watch the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League and much more
TNT Sports gives you access to games across the Premier League, Champions League, Europa League, Serie A and many more. You can also watch the biggest clashes in boxing, UFC, WWE and the get exclusive action from MLB all for one payment every month. You can watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
£29.99 a month and get access to discovery+ Premium at no extra cost
TNT Sports
Galatasaray boss Okan Buruk - who beat United while in charge of Istanbul Basaksehir three years ago - said: “It is a very important match for both us and Manchester United. Until now, our goal as Galatasaray is to achieve success in Europe, which is in Galatasaray’s genes. We want to continue this. Our players are ready, we are ready. We can use our good performance in the [Turkish] league in the Champions League.”
Join our new WhatsApp community! Click this link to receive your daily dose of **Mirror Football **content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
