Michail Antonio becomes all-time PL leading scorer for West Ham

The fun-loving striker became the London club's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League era, moving onto 49 goals by netting twice in a 4-1 win over ten-man Leicester City at the Olympic Stadium.

Published : Aug 24, 2021 11:28 IST , LONDON

Antonio's first goal moved him past Paolo Di Canio's previous record mark of 47 and he celebrated by running to the sideline and raising aloft a cardboard cut-out of himself.
Antonio's first goal moved him past Paolo Di Canio's previous record mark of 47 and he celebrated by running to the sideline and raising aloft a cardboard cut-out of himself.
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Antonio's first goal moved him past Paolo Di Canio's previous record mark of 47 and he celebrated by running to the sideline and raising aloft a cardboard cut-out of himself.

Michail Antonio's record goal for West Ham United was sealed with a kiss.

The fun-loving striker became the London club's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League era, moving onto 49 goals by netting twice in a 4-1 win over ten-man Leicester City at the Olympic Stadium on Monday.

Antonio's first goal — a close-range shot on the turn to make it 3-1 in the 80th — moved him past Paolo Di Canio's previous record mark of 47 and he celebrated by running to the sideline and raising aloft a cardboard cut-out of himself.

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Spinning around to cheers from a packed crowd, Antonio — whose goal celebrations often provide amusement — finished his routine by planting a kiss on himself before tossing the cut-out to the ground.

He said the celebration was based on 2001 movie ' Save The Last Dance ' and was pre-planned, having placed the cut-out behind West Ham's dugout before kickoff.

"I've not been celebrating of late because of VAR," Antonio said.

"I was like, if I'm making history, I've got to do something special. I started it off doing celebrations so I've got to finish it doing celebrations." Antonio — a converted striker, having played as a winger and even a full back since joining West Ham in 2015 — still had time to add a second goal, stretching to prod home a finish in the 84th after controlling a right-wing cross. It wrapped up West Ham's second straight victory to open the season.

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David Moyes' team is one of five to be on a maximum six points after two rounds, and is in first place on goals scored.

"I've challenged the players to find that extra two points that could have been enough to get us in the Champions League," Moyes said, referring to his team finishing in sixth place last season — two points behind fourth-place Chelsea.

"I could be asking far too much but what else am I going to do — stand here and say we want to avoid relegation?" the Scottish coach added. 

West Ham hasn't started a top-flight season with two straight wins since 1997. It has eight goals so far, having beaten Newcastle 4-2 last weekend.

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