Following Real Betis’ 2-1 La Liga victory against Real Madrid on Saturday, Antony has expressed his emotions clearly.
Following Betis’ successful red card appeal against the Brazilian, the winger played the full ninety minutes. When Antony lunged at Juan Iglesias during their victory over Getafe last weekend, he was given a straight red card.
He approached from a distance to bang into his opponent’s back, giving the impression that the ruling was accurate in real time. Replays, however, revealed that Antony did withdraw from the challenge in order to minimise contact with the opponent.
He could be playing against Carlo Ancelotti’s team because the club’s appeal was successful. After Brahim Diaz gave Real Madrid the lead in the tenth minute, goals from Johnny Cardoso and Isco helped Betis overcome a 1-0 deficit.
Even though they won, Antony did not contribute to the scoring or offer an assist this time. Since completing his switch to Spain during the January transfer window, he has contributed two goals and an equal number of assists in five league appearances.
Following the match, Antony shared the full-time graphic for Betis on his Instagram stories and, as usual, gave his fans kudos. The winger also took to social media to express gratitude to the more than 50,000 supporters who turned out at Benito Villamarin Stadium.
Prior to the clash, Antony discussed how important Betis’ head coach Manuel Pellegrini has been for him – even before joining the Spanish club from Manchester United in January. “[Manuel] Pellegrini is very important to me. Before signing with Betis, I spoke with him, and he gave me a lot of confidence,” he told Estadio Deportivo.
“His experience and history give me energy every day to do well. When I made the decision to come here, it was to find myself again, as I mentioned before. There is always pressure, but the greatest pressure I felt was when I was living in the poor neighbourhoods of Brazil, thinking about my family and everything.”