Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Result: Michail Antonio brace fires him into record books and West Ham top of the league

sportsmole.co.uk, 23 August 2021, 21:10
Michail Antonio's two late goals fired the striker into the West Ham record books and the Hammers to the top of the Premier League.

Antonio's quickfire double wrapped up a 4-1 victory over 10-man Leicester at a raucous London Stadium.

His first saw him overtake Paolo Di Canio as West Ham's top Premier League goalscorer, and he celebrated in hilarious fashion by kissing a life-size cardboard cut-out of himself.

Moments later he was one short of a half-century of top-flight goals as West Ham maintained their flying start to the season.

The Hammers led through goals from Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma, either side of a red card for Leicester's Ayoze Perez.

Youri Tielemans hauled one back for the 10 men but Antonio stole the show with his late heroics.

Unlucky Leicester were missing Jannik Vestergaard, the defender they spent £15million on from Southampton 11 days ago to ease an injury crisis at the back, and who had promptly got injured.

Benrahma, Antonio and Jarrod Bowen immediately set about troubling the makeshift Foxes defence.

Some 60,000 fans were in the London Stadium for the first time since February 2020, the vast majority of whom had not seen David Moyes' well-drilled, exciting side who finished an improbable sixth last season, in the flesh.

In the opening 15 minutes they saw a Benrahma curler saved, Declan Rice shoot over the crossbar and Antonio fire wide after another burst forward.

West Ham deservedly took the lead in the 26th minute when Jamie Vardy lost possession on the halfway line.

A swift counter-attack saw Rice feed Bowen, who flicked the ball first time to Fornals.

The Spanish midfielder laid the ball out wide to Benrahma and then darted into the area to tap in the Algerian's cross.

An already tough evening got worse for Leicester five minutes before half-time when VAR checked a tackle by Perez on Fornals.

Leicester argued, with some justification, that Perez was off balance after he was fouled by Aaron Cresswell moments earlier.

But the replay did not look good, with his studs clearly catching Fornals high above the ankle and referee Michael Oliver agreed.

Antonio's big moment should have arrived six minutes into the second half when he met a Fornals cross with a powerful header, but it was too close to Kasper Schmeichel, who made a fine reflex save.

Instead it was Benrahma who got the second thanks to a dreadful back-pass from Caglar Soyuncu, intercepted by Antonio.

The striker found his path to goal blocked by Schmeichel but pulled the ball back for former Brentford winger Benrahma to stroke into an unguarded net.

Leicester grabbed a lifeline with 21 minutes remaining after James Maddison's low cross somehow squirmed its way to Tielemans, who bundled it in at the far post.

But Antonio settled any nerves with his milestone strike, turning Soyuncu and firing past Schmeichel before embarking on his latest madcap celebration.

This unloved stadium has struggled for atmosphere over the last five years, but the goal was met with possibly the loudest roar heard here since Sir Mo Farah rounded the final bend on Super Saturday in 2012.

Antonio rounded off a thumping win when he flicked the ball above two Leicester defenders and beat Schmeichel to the ball before stabbing home.

Top News

25 November 2024 talksport.com Jamie Carragher has revealed he's been left 'very disappointed' by Mohamed Salah after he delivered a huge Liverpool contract update. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has revealed he played over an hour with a broken ankle against Manchester City. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Curtis Jones currently tops an important midfield metric thanks to an impressive season with Liverpool thus far. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Millwall will look to extend their eight-game unbeaten run when they travel to Fratton Park for Wednesday's Championship clash with Portsmouth. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk No doubt one of the most eagerly-awaited battles of the 2024-25 Champions League, six-time winners Liverpool and 15-time champions Real Madrid collide in Wednesday's mouthwatering Anfield showdown. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona will be aiming to return to winning ways when they host Brest in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich will welcome Paris Saint-Germain to Allianz Arena in the Champions League on Tuesday night. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk At risk of a scarcely believable sixth straight loss in all competitions, a wounded Manchester City take on Feyenoord in the Champions League league phase on Tuesday. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fresh from a first Premier League victory in weeks, Arsenal's next Champions League quest on Tuesday night sees them visit a Sporting Lisbon side who have won a staggering 14 home games on the spin. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Eredivisie leaders PSV Eindhoven welcome Shakhtar Donetsk to the Philips Stadion on matchday five of the Champions League this wednesday. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Strong starters Monaco welcome an in-form Benfica side to the Stade Louis II on matchday five of the Champions League on Wednesday night. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly included defender Kieran Tierney in their travelling squad for Tuesday night's Champions League clash at Sporting Lisbon. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Luka Modric has named a star-studded six-a-side team of footballing legends but there's no room for Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City's Champions League encounter with Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday is "a must-win for many reasons", Citizens expert Steven McInerney from Esteemed Kompany has told Sports Mole. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have received a double injury boost ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash with Feyenoord at the Etihad. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Resuming their debut Champions League campaign, Aston Villa will tackle Serie A giants Juventus on Wednesday evening, when Unai Emery must make a couple of big selection calls. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Istanbul Basaksehir and Petrocub Hincesti are winless in this season's Conference League heading into Wednesday's matchday four encounter at the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadium. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reeling after a run of five consecutive defeats, an unprecedented run of poor form under manager Pep Guardiola, who watched his team suffer a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last weekend. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reeling after a run of five consecutive defeats, an unprecedented run of poor form under manager Pep Guardiola, who watched his team suffer a heavy 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League last weekend. 25 November 2024 talksport.com A non-league side have been able to see the funny side after their pitch was left underwater by Storm Bert. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal are reportedly prepared to reject any offers for William Saliba, who is attracting interest from Real Madrid. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Premier League clubs are not renowned for their patience when firing managers, and we've just had our second sacking of 2024/25. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Liverpool have the chance to go 11 points clear of Premier League champions Manchester City when the two sides meet this weekend. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City are reportedly involved in the race for the services of Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap, with Chelsea keen on the player. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Turkish giants Besiktas are reportedly interested in signing Fulham winger Adama Traore in the January transfer window. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Champions League rookies Aston Villa will seek a home hat-trick on Wednesday evening, when they host Italian giants Juventus. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Sepp van den Berg has suggested that he has no regrets over leaving Liverpool for Brentford during the summer transfer window. 25 November 2024 talksport.com Mohamed Salah has conceded he's 'probably more out than in' when it comes to staying at Liverpool beyond this season. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Ed Sheeran has taken to social media to apologise to Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim after interrupting his interview with Sky Sports. 25 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Napoli forward Victor Osimhen is reportedly attracting interest from a new club ahead of the January transfer window.