It was a battle between two of last season’s top six on Monday Night Football as West Ham United welcomed Leicester City to the London Stadium. A capacity crowd was in attendance for what proved to be the kind of game many Hammers fans will be annoyed about missing, as West Ham stunned a lot of people with a dominant 4-1 win over 10-man Leicester.
The Antonio show
Michail Antonio has been on fire in the last twelve months and he proved why once again last night with two magnificent goals to help West Ham on their way to victory. His overall work ethic was also pretty special on an evening that saw him make history by overtaking Paolo Di Canio to become the club’s all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League. From this point on, it should be pretty fascinating to see whether or not he can keep this momentum going given how congested the fixture schedule is going to get.
Leicester’s defensive woes
The Ayoze Perez red card was bad enough but beyond that, Leicester just seemed to crumble at the back and we all know that’s not the first time it’s happened under the leadership of Brendan Rodgers. Every now and then the first team just seems to collapse under the weight of the expectations put in front of them, and while that may seem a bit dramatic, losing like this will hardly give fans hope that they can make another sustained push for a top four finish.
Moyes does it again?
The big question mark this season is going to be whether or not West Ham United can prove last season wasn’t a fluke and that they can, in fact, become regular members of the top six conversation. It’s going to get even tougher once their Europa League commitments are introduced into the equation alongside the League Cup and FA Cup, but we’re starting to think David Moyes has really found his feet in management again. It’s taken a while for it to happen but he seems more committed than ever before to making a long-term project work, and it’s nice to see.
Match Report
West Ham: Fabianski (6), Cresswell (6.5), Ogbonna (6.5), Dawson (7), Coufal (7.5), Rice (8.5), Soucek (7), Benrahma (8), Fornals (8.5), Bowen (8), Antonio (9.5), Noble (6), Yarmolenko (6)
Leicester: Schmeichel (6), Pereira (6.5), Amartey (5.5), Soyuncu (5.5), Thomas (6.5), Tielemans (6.5), Ndidi (6), Perez (3), Maddison (6.5), Barnes (6), Vardy (6), Daka (6), Iheanacho (6), Soumare (6)
Referee: Michael Oliver
Goals: Antonio x2, Fornals, Benrahma :: Tielemans
Yellow Cards: Pereira
Red Cards: Perez
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