WEST HAM UNITED 4-1 LEICESTER CITY
- Goals: Pablo Fornals (£6.0m), Said Benrahma (£6.2m), Michail Antonio x2 (£7.7m)
- Assists: Benrahma, Antonio, Declan Rice (£5.0m), Vladimir Coufal (£5.0m)
- Red cards: Ayoze Perez (£6.0m)
- Bonus: Antonio x3, Benrahma x2, Fornals x1, Rice x1
BENRAHMA AND ANTONIO EXCEL
In a dominant victory for West Ham United over 10-man Leicester City, Michail Antonio (£7.7m) scored two late goals and made another in a stellar solo performance.
Said Benrahma (£6.2m) also impressed, as he scored for the second game in a row and added an assist on his way to another 12-point Fantasy Premier League (FPL) haul.
The Algerian lacked consistency in his debut top-flight campaign, but seems to have gained the trust of manager David Moyes in recent weeks.
“I think Said needed to take stock and settle in and realise he had to be a team player as much as an individual. I think that he had not realised that he is part of a team and we have to do all the right things together and because of that he’s actually getting these goals, he’s making goals, which is what we brought him for.” – David Moyes
Meanwhile, Antonio led the line superbly as he became the Hammers record Premier League goalscorer, and after last nights showing, has now attempted more shots than any other player over the opening two rounds:
A possible Gameweek 3 captaincy shout, then, which we’ll explore in more detail in our Captain Sensible article later this week.
Vladimir Coufal (£5.0m) also deserves a mention, as he picked up his first assist of the season and ended the match with more opposition-half touches (47) than any other player on the pitch.
There is no doubt West Ham benefitted from Leicester being reduced to 10-men last night, but performances so far have been hugely encouraging and their prospects look good ahead of Crystal Palace (h) in Gameweek 3.
ANOTHER BLANK FOR BARNES
Only Manchester City and Manchester United won more points away from home than Leicester City in the Premier League last season, but the Foxes were outplayed in their first game on the road in 2021/22.
Now, Brendan Rodgers will be without Ayoze Perez (£6.0m) as well for three games as a result of his straight red card.
It was a night to forget for Harvey Barnes (£7.0m) too, as the winger failed to register an attempt on goal and was hauled off for Patson Daka (£7.4m) on 64 minutes. However, owners may be content to hold for one more week, given their Gameweek 3 fixture against Norwich City and the fact Perez is suspended.
City were without Jannik Vestergaard (£5.0m) for the clash after the Denmark international picked up a knee injury in training ahead of Monday’s match. Assessing his fitness, Rodgers said:
“Hopefully, he can get back onto the field this week. He was playing in a game in training and just hurt his knee and felt some pain in it. He’s had a couple of scans and it doesn’t show anything too serious. We’re hoping we can get him onto the pitch in the midweek.”
Speaking at full-time, Rodgers also discussed his team’s performance at the London Stadium:
“We’re obviously disappointed with the result. The spirit of the team was really good. We kept fighting. The mentality of the team was really good. With 20 to 25 minutes to go, we were 2-1 [down], and then just as we were about to make the changes to try and make a go for it in the last 20 minutes, we obviously conceded the third.”
We had good possession [early on]. We worked the ball, I just felt that technically, we were too slow on it. We needed to be cleaner in our possession but smoother in our passing, and that would have got us through quicker. It’s something to take forward into the next game.
The first two goals [we conceded] were mistakes. We were in good possession of the ball, but we gave it away. That’s obviously not so good. Then, the other goals, of course, we didn’t defend so well, but it’s also really good play by Michail Antonio. He finishes them really well.”
West Ham XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice, Soucek, Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma (Noble 88), Antonio (Yarmolenko 89)
Leicester XI: Schmeichel, Pereira, Amartey, Soyuncu, Thomas, Ndidi, Tielemans, Perez, Maddison (Soumare 81), Barnes (Daka 64), Vardy (Iheanacho 81)
ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW FROM GAMEWEEK 2
