Manchester United fans couldn’t hold back their frustrations after Antony’s cameo appearance against Fenerbahce in the Europa League ended in disaster on Thursday evening.

Erik ten Hag’s men blew a 1-0 advantage against Fenerbahce in Istanbul and walked away with a single point from their Europa League encounter in Turkey.

Manchester United took the lead in the first half after Christian Eriksen opened the scoring in the 15th minute and were 1-0 up going into half-time.

However, Jose Mourinho’s men rallied back in the second half and Youssef En-Nesyri cancelled out Christian Eriksen’s first-half opener only four minutes after the break.

United were unable to re-establish their lead over Fenerbahce at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium and had to settle for their third Europa League draw of the season.

The Red Devils previously picked up a 1-1 draw against FC Twente at Old Trafford in September and a 3-3 draw against Porto at the Estadio do Dragao earlier this month.

Antony’s cameo turns into nightmare

Manchester United are currently 21st in the league-phase format of the Europa League after their opening three matches of the 2024-25 campaign.

Erik ten Hag made the bold decision to bring on underperforming United winger Antony in the second half of the Europa League tie in Istanbul.

Antony, who has been heavily criticised for his form and impact since his 2022 move, replaced Marcus Rashford in the 73rd minute and lasted only 16 minutes.

The 24-year-old Brazilian winger was spotted holding his calf and appeared to be in discomfort before he was forced off the pitch in a stretcher.

Antony has been struggling for regular first-team minutes at Old Trafford this season, with the former Ajax star only playing in five matches this season.

United manager Ten Hag was forced to withdraw the Brazil international in the 89th minute and Amad Diallo took to the pitch to see out the remainder of the match.

Man Utd fans call out Ten Hag for Antony

United fans on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, slammed Ten Hag’s decision to bring on Antony ahead of Amad Diallo as an impact sub.

Diallo had impressed during the pre-season tour in the summer and had been challenging for a regular starting spot in the United XI this season.

However, the 22-year-old Ivorian winger has been an unused substitute for the last two Premier League matches and only managed a few minutes against Fenerbahce.

“Putting Antony on before Amad was criminal,” one fan said.

Another added: “I struggle to find any justification tactically, socially, physically, even emotionally [as to] why Antony was brought on before Amad tonight.”

“I can understand not starting Amad but Antony coming on from the bench ahead of him is absolutely insane,” a third tweeted.

Someone else commented: “Erik might be a decent manager, but he’s not taking United anywhere. His decisions are baffling—Antony over Amad? Genius! And playing [Noussair] Mazraoui as a No 10 instead of using [Christian] Eriksen or Casemiro? Tactical masterclass!”

While a fifth wrote: “Disrespectful to Amad, he should’ve come on before Antony.”

And a sixth argued: “What is Ten Hag seeing in Antony that I’m missing always? Putting him ahead of Amad is a crime. Absolutely stupid decision.”

“All the time Antony came to waste could’ve been put to better use by Amad,” another X user posted.

An eight United fan claimed: “After watching that, it was pretty terrible, Amad wouldn’t have come on if it wasn’t for the Antony injury.”