Manchester United got back to winning ways with a professional, 1-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday evening, with the Red Devils ending their three-game run without a win in the Premier League to move back into the top four.
Having started the month on a sour note following the weekend defeat to Newcastle United, Erik ten Hag's men responded in fine fashion with a commanding performance yesterday, securing all three points following a first-half strike from Marcus Rashford.
The England international lashed home from close range following a neat flick-on from January arrival Marcel Sabitzer, with the 25-year-old scoring for the first time in four league games to take his tally to 28 goals in all competitions so far this season.
Having been given the nod through the middle as misfiring dud Wout Weghorst dropped to the bench, the United academy graduate seemed to relish the prospect of leading the line, registering an impressive haul of four key passes as a marker of his playmaking prowess, while also proving a real nuisance for the Bees with his dynamism in the channel.
The Manchester native was not the only figure who looked close to getting back to his best, however, with both Rashford and fellow forward Antony having been "dangerous" in the first half, in particular, as per journalist Matthew Law.
How did Antony perform against Brentford?
There is no getting away from what has been a difficult debut campaign in England to date for the £86m Brazilian, with the 23-year-old having failed to build on a promising start to life at Old Trafford after scoring three times in his first three top-flight appearances.
On the evidence of last night's outing, however, it looks as if the former Ajax boss could be able to replicate or even improve upon that early season form, having been a real livewire down the right flank against Thomas Frank's men.
As Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst noted, the one-time Sao Paolo man 'faded' after the interval, although prior to that he had been 'United's most creative player again', notably racking up two key passes from his 60 touches to illustrate his desire to make things happen for his side.
The £200k-per-week wizard could well have had an assist to his name early on after teeing up Scott McTominay with a clever pull-back, although the towering midfielder could not mirror his goalscoring heroics for his country as he rifled a fierce effort over the crossbar.
Antony was then heavily involved in the game's deciding goal after producing a delicate dinked cross to pick out Sabitzer, with the Austrian in turn managing to tee up Rashford to power past a helpless David Raya.
Those two moments of quality showcased the ability that fleet-footed maverick does possess, albeit with the 5 foot 9 enigma still needing to demonstrate that impact on a consistent basis, having somewhat irked the home crowd after repeatedly curling efforts wide having cut in onto his stronger left foot.
That frustrating knack for wasting opportunities will be held against the marquee arrival, although the win over the west London outfit appeared to illustrate that Antony can have a key role to play in Ten Hag's side moving forward.