Erik ten Hag hailed the ‘great personalities’ in his ranks, although Jason Cundy believes the Manchester United boss deserves the most credit for their win over Barcelona.
An enthralling Europa League play-off went the way of the Red Devils as they ran out 4-3 winners on aggregate thanks to a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
Things didn’t start too well for Man United, who were a goal down at half time through Robert Lewandowski’s penalty.
But the home side were a team transformed after the break with Fred equalising just 82 seconds into the restart.
And the match was turned on its head when substitute Antony rifled home a loose ball to send Old Trafford into raptures.
The win is the perfect boost for Man United going into their Carabao Cup final date with Newcastle, live on talkSPORT, and it keeps alive their dreams of lifting four trophies this season.
Ten Hag was quick to praise the impact of substitutes Antony and Alejandro Garnacho as well as the personalities that helped Man United get over the line in the end-to-end tie.
Speaking about the impact of his substitutes, Ten Hag told BT Sport: “That was one of the parts of the game plan.
“If we can bring Antony, Garnacho in, if you get it wide you’ve got speed, running in behind dribbles and you get belief.
“They are so brave, they don’t fear anyone, especially in front of the Stretford End, they take players on and are running in behind and that gives a boost to the team.”
Ten Hag added: “We have some great personalities in the team. Like Rafa [Varane] and Lisandro Martinez, they step forward. I already mentioned Antony and Garnacho, they don’t fear anyone. We have Bruno also and Casemiro of course.
“We have some great personalities and if and when you get setbacks, they move on. They carry on and they are resilient.”
The winning goal by Antony, who came on for the ineffective Wout Weghorst at half time, brought up an interesting stat demonstrating how super Man United’s subs are.
Antony’s goal is the 19th scored by substitutes in all competitions this season, the most of any big five European league side in 2022/23.
This is where Ten Hag is really earning his Old Trafford packet, according to Cundy, who says he’d put the Dutchman as the Premier League’s best manager at present.
“Ten Hag has come in and in a relatively short space of time he’s got his hands on these players, got his hands on the squad and he’s moulded them into a really, really good team,” Cundy said on The Sports Bar.
“He’s a brilliant manager. I would say right now he’s as good as any manager in the Premier League.
“Right now, result for result, I am putting him in the same breath as Pep Guardiola… right now there isn’t a better manager in the Premier League than Ten Hag.
“One of the hardest things you can do as a manager at elite level is to change the course of the game in 90 minutes… that’s what managers are paid for.
“There are two things; can you make players better? Box ticked. And can you change the course of the game in 90 minutes? He does it consistently now.”
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