Antony blasted by fans for his 'criminal' decision to shoot when THREE of his Man United teammates were unmarked

 Why Antony refused to pass to his teammates in this position genuinely needs explaining

Manchester United winger Antony has been ruthlessly slammed after he made a “criminal” mistake in his side’s 4-1 win over Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday.

Following on from Liverpool’s 7-0 drubbing of United at Anfield, Erik ten Hag’s men bounced back in stunning style for their first-leg Europa League last-16 tie.

In-form England star Marcus Rashford fired United into a lead in the sixth minute at Old Trafford with a wonderful strike.

Leicester City loanee Ayoze Perez pulled one back for Betis before half-time, but then Antony restored United’s advantage only seven minutes after the break.

Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst, who received a spine-tingling reception from the Old Trafford faithful after he scored, grabbed United’s third and fourth respectively against Betis.

Ten Hag’s men have inched closer to a place in the Europa League quarter-finals, with the return leg of the last-16 tie to be played on 16th March in Spain.

Antony has been met with heavy criticism this season after United splashed out a hefty £86m fee to land him from Ajax last summer.

The 23-year-old Brazilian winger was blasted for his error in judgement in the second half when United were 3-1 up against Betis.

Antony was played through and only had former Manchester City shot-stopper Claudio Bravo, but the ex-Ajax star also had three of his United teammates to support him.

📸 - Huge chance for Manchester United to make it 4-1 but Antony decides not to pass it! pic.twitter.com/AT1ax8iRXh

— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) March 9, 2023

 The United star decided to shoot and missed the target when there was a clear-cut pass open to unmarked trio Rashford, Weghorst and Fred.

“This is criminal from Antony, yeah we led 3-1 but naaah,” one fan said.

Someone else tweeted: “I think I’d be angry about this for the whole of tomorrow. WTF.”

“His decision-making is his greatest enemy… Has the ability,” a third added.

Another wrote: “Why didn’t he square it?”

While one Twitter user posted: “Broo, I’m so mad he didn’t pass.”