Jamie Carragher defends Antony, knocks out Man Utd teammate as Red Devils dive out of Europa League

Jamie Carragher defended Antony and knocked down another Manchester United star as the Red Devils crashed out of the Europa League.

United’s run in the Europa League was ended by Sevilla on Thursday night as the Spanish side took a 5-2 aggregate victory and progressed to the semi-finals.

Marcel Sabitzer’s brace in the first half of the first leg at Old Trafford propelled Manchester United, but Sevilla hit back thanks to two own goals.

Sevilla’s momentum continued in the return leg when Youssef En-Nesyri scored early on a foul by England defender Harry Maguire.

The home side could have doubled their lead before the break, but confirmed their dominance immediately after the break with a looped header from Loic Bade.

David de Gea could have scored better on both goals and his dismal evening was compounded when he gave En-Nesyri a second goal ten minutes from time.

Neither United side improved their reputation against Sevilla, but Jadon Sancho and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were sent off after a poor half-time.

Sancho was flattered to cheat after his £73 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund in 2021 and Carragher believes Antony has already done more than the England striker at Old Trafford.

Brazil winger Antony has received a lot of criticism this season, but Carragher says he has outperformed Sancho, who comes away with less control.

“Antony has done more in six months than Sancho has done in two years,” the former Liverpool and England defender tweeted. “Still, Antony receives a lot of criticism and Sancho little.”

Meanwhile, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag criticized his team’s performance as they were kicked out of the Europa League.

United, who won the League Cup earlier this season, will return to action on Sunday with an FA Cup semi-final against in-form Brighton.

“We have to do better, that is the goal,” said Ten Hag. “We were not calm, not calm.

“We didn’t beat the press, when you do that there are so many holes behind it and it was obvious how to do it at the beginning. We lost the fights, they had more passion, more desire, more willingness, it’s hard to win matches.

“We can’t run away from it. We have another chance on Sunday and we need to go a step further and show more character and personality.

“It’s not about her [the players they were missing]It’s about the players on the field. They have to perform, I believe in them and I trust them, but they have to show and they weren’t good enough.

“We’ve shown good things so many times, but tonight we weren’t ready for the game. At this level, as a Manchester United player you have to be ready for every game.

“It was a great chance, a great chance to win something and we gave it away – it’s our own fault. It’s gone, we can’t change it. We have to look forward to Sunday, that’s the next chance.”