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Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has explained why Marcus Rashford elected to hand over the penalty kick rather than take it himself, as the Reds put seven goals past Barnsley in the third round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
A brace from Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Christian Eriksen and Antony’s strike from the spot-kick were all United needed to advance to the next round of the competition.
Antony’s goal was United’s second of the match and came after the Brazilian was brought down by Barnsley goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.
With regular penalty taker Bruno Fernandes on the bench, many would have expected Rashford to step up to take it but the England international selflessly gave it to Antony, who started a match for the first time this season.
According to the Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst, Rashford was preparing to take it but then Casemiro went up to Antony and in just mere moments, the Brazilian winger had the opportunity to get his first goal of the new campaign.
Rashford was getting ready to take it and then Casemiro went up to Antony, who soon got the ball.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) September 17, 2024
Antony made no mistake as he sent the ball into the back of the net, well past the reach of Slonina who dived the right way.
Speaking to Sky Sports [via The Express] after the final whistle, Ten Hag said that Rashford was eager to help Antony get his confidence up.
The United boss remarked, “Antony needed some confidence, and Rashford gave him the penalty.”
“They are together. We won, into the next round, scored some great goals and entertained the fans. We are happy.”
The Dutchman insisted that he was not getting carried away with his side’s resounding victory as he remembered the loss to Liverpool.
He pointed out, “I was not devastated after Liverpool. Now, I am not celebrating.”
Ten Hag further stated about Rashford, “In my first season also, he had this vibe, this good mood [great goalscoring form].”
“I’m calm and composed that he will score.”
“I think last season was difficult for everybody and we walked away with a trophy. You can’t forget this but in the end we found our targets, we hit the targets we wanted to get and this is what we aim for this season as well.”
“We want to progress. We want to be better. We are very ambitious” 📈
Erik ten Hag reacts after achieving his biggest win as Manchester United manager 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Mv0jIfZHM3
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 17, 2024
Ten Hag noted that United want to progress even further, be better and improve.
Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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