Why Antony was ahead of Amad Diallo in Manchester United pecking order before latest injury blow

Erik ten Hag says Antony deserves his opportunities at Manchester United ahead of Amad Diallo because of his performances on the training ground.

With the scores level against Fenerbahce on Thursday night, the United manager opted to select Antony over Amad when he was looking for a forward to replace Marcus Rashford in the final 20 minutes of the match, only for Amad to eventually replace him through injury anyway.

The Brazilian struggled to make much of an impact on the match during his 15 minute cameo, before he was replaced himself after suffering an injury setback. Antony was stretched off the pitch in Istanbul and was later seen hobbling out of the stadium on crutches and wearing a protective boot around his left ankle.

It means Amad is likely to be ahead of Antony in the pecking order when United travel to face West Ham in the Premier League this weekend, and speaking after the match, Ten Hag revealed why he wasn't ahead of him to begin with.

"Amad, he is doing well," Ten Hag said after the match. "But I must also reward to reward the performances of Antony in training, he is a threat almost every training, so I felt in that moment to bring him, to decide the game."

Asked why he didn't start the match, he added: "Away from home in Europe, hectic ambience, to start with four attackers is too much. Nous (Mazraoui) is very capable to play that position. I made him a full-back, when he played No 10. He was helping midfield, supporting Zirkzee in pressing, big part of goal for Eriksen."