Man United were close to humiliation in the FA Cup, but Antony saved the day

Manchester United were aiming for a convincing win against Newport County this Sunday at Rodney Parade and advance to the FA Cup Round of 16. And they delivered, at least in part. While they got the result they needed and are still alive in the world's oldest club competition, their performance was not good enough to satisfy the fans, especially considering they faced a team from the fourth tier of English soccer.

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What is even stranger is that The Red Devils had made a promising start to the match, as before 15 minutes into the first half they were leading 2-0. Those goals came thanks to similar plays in which the team used the same formula: a drilled cross for the emergence of a midfielder who arrived by surprise and netted. First the protagonists were Antony (assisting) and Bruno Fernandes (scoring), while later it was Diogo Dalot and Kobbie Mainoo.

With this scenario, it looked like it was going to be an unusually easy match for Erik Ten Hag's team, but Newport County had other plans. They scored near the end of the first half through Bryn Morris, who shot from outside the box and, aided by a deflection, made Altay Bayindir's save impossible. And after the break Will Evans received a cross, outpaced Raphael Varane and scored with a soft shot.

This turned the game into a nightmare for Manchester United, who for several minutes struggled to take responsibility for another lead. Until after 22 minutes Antony scored the third goal after Luke Shaw's shot hit the post. And in stoppage time Rasmus Hojlund made it 4-2.

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What's next for them?

With the victory against Newport County, Manchester United qualified to the round of 16 of the FA Cup. There they will face the winner between Nottingham Forest and Bristol City, who drew their match and will have to do a replay. In addition, in the Premier League they will visit Wolverhampton next Thursday.