Amad Diallo Connection
When Antony has come on as a substitute, he has linked superbly with Amad Diallo, with the two bringing out the best in each other.
Both players, known for their excellent balance and low centre of gravity, have excelled at quick combinations and intricate “round-the-corner” passes.
This was particularly evident in the Europa League.
With Amad moving into a more advanced number 10 role, Antony could potentially strengthen this connection if given a consistent run of games at right wing-back.
Stylistic Fit
Against Manchester City, we saw a key element of Amorim’s style come into play.
Amorim often builds up play deep on one side of the pitch, drawing the opposition toward that side and compressing the space.
This strategy simultaneously creates large pockets of space on the opposite flank.
Antony and Amad playing on the same side can enhance this tactic in several ways.
Firstly, they are two of United’s best players at combining in tight spaces.
This would allow United to maintain possession and lure the opposition in before executing a switch to the underloaded side.
This process is further simplified by both players being left-footed, which provides better angles for retaining the ball on the right side and makes switching play to the opposite flank more seamless.
A right-footed player, when pressed near the touchline, may struggle to create such switches due to less favourable angles, but left-footers excel in this situation.
At Sporting, Amorim successfully utilised a similar approach with two left-footers, Trincao and Geovany Quenda, on the right-hand side.
He may look to replicate this at United.
Lastly, if this pattern is executed similarly on the left, the right-hand side will likely receive the ball with ample space ahead.
Both Antony and Amad are exceptional ball carriers, which could enable United to effortlessly transform deep possession into dangerous attacking opportunities.
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