Ten Hag is the most effective substitution in Europe

Antony's decisive goal against Barca is the 19th time a player has not started a goal for Man Utd this season. In Europe's top five leagues, Napoli and Villarreal are behind with 17 goals from substitutes, while Barca have 14 such goals.

In the last five matches, the substitute has scored four goals for Man Utd. Before Antony, these included Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho (two goals). In the previous five matches, Anthony Martial or Fred also scored even without starting. The most-scoring substitute for Man Utd is Marcus Rashford with six goals in seven games.

Not only scoring goals, Man Utd's substitutes often do a good job after entering the field. According to Ten Hag, Garnacho and Antony both increased the speed of the game at Man Utd in the second half of the match against Barca in the second leg of the 1/8 round of the Europa League. The 18-year-old midfielder stirred up the opponent's defense many times, including a situation that caused Sergio Busquets to receive a yellow card.

The Dutch coach also said that he must take advantage of the depth of the squad when Man Utd are playing in four competitions. He was criticized for not rotating the main players when Man Utd often played with a density of three days a game. In return, Ten Hag often makes an early substitution, right after halftime or in the 60th minute, to give the substitute plenty of opportunities to show off. In eight of the last nine matches, Man Utd made at least one substitution during this time.

Man Utd also won the most games in Europe's top five leagues this season, with 28 wins, helping them still play in all four competitions. The team's win rate reached 72%, just behind Napoli 84%, Barca 74% and Real Madrid 73%.