David de Gea has spoken about Antony after a wonder goal from the Brazilian beat the Fiorentina goalkeeper.
The two former Manchester United teammates locked horns on Thursday night as Fiorentina took on Real Betis at the Benito Villamarin.
During what was a tight affair, Spanish La Liga side Betis came away 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Abde Ezzalzouli and Antony. Luca Ranieri was the scorer for the visitors.
Next week, the pair will do battle again at the Stadio Artemio Franchi with a place in the Europa Conference League final at stake.
Brazilian winger Antony, who joined Betis on loan from United, scored what proved to be the winner in the 64th minute.
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The 25-year-old netted a sumptuous improvised volley past former Red Devils teammate De Gea, with his right-footed effort finding the top corner.
Reacting to Antony's goal after the match, De Gea claimed that Antony never scored with his weaker foot during their time training together at United.
He said: "I trained with Antony 1,000 times and he never scored a goal with his right foot in any training session, but now he is in confidence and is proving the player he is.
"I'm happy for him because he was coming from a difficult moment at United and now he's showing the best of himself."
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Ever since leaving Old Trafford for Betis in January, Antony has started to rediscover the kind of form he showed at Ajax that earned him a move to United in the first place.
So far, the Brazilian has six goals and four assists in 19 matches for Manuel Pellegrini's team.
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In comparison, he only managed one goal in 14 appearances for United prior to moving to Spain in the winter.
Speaking after the match, Betis legend Joaquin joked: "'ll provide the car if he has to be kidnapped, but let him stay no matter what.
"This is the moment to enjoy. I think important moments will come, and we'll see later."
Topics: David De Gea, Antony, Football, Europa Conference League, Manchester United, Real Betis, Fiorentina
Marcus Chan