Michail Antonio set up one and scored twice, taking him above Paolo Di Canio as West Ham’s record Premier League goalscorer, as the Hammers outplayed and overpowered 10-man Leicester.
In truth, even when it was 11 vs 11 West Ham carried the greater threat, reflected by attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals opening the scoring from a flowing counter attack after Leicester forward Jamie Vardy had given the ball away cheaply to Declan Rice in midfield.
The Foxes’ job then got even harder as Ayoze Perez was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Fornals. Referee Michael Oliver initially awarded nothing but was advised by VAR to go to the monitor, deciding on second viewing that the tackle merited a sending off. While nasty, Perez could count himself a little unlucky in that he was off balance, stumbling towards the Spaniard after being challenged from behind by Aaron Cresswell.
The excellent Said Benrahma doubled West Ham’s advantage 10 minutes into the second half after some good work by Antonio, the West Ham forward intercepting Caglar Soyuncu’s blind backpass to Kasper Schmeichel before squaring it to the Algerian to stroke home beyond the outstretched leg of defender Daniel Amartey.
Youri Tielemans then got Leicester back into the game against the run of play, scoring from the Foxes’ only shot on target after a penetrating run by James Maddison.
West Ham continued to dominate, however, and they were rewarded as Antonio converted from Rice’s cross, holding off Soyuncu before turning and striking past Schmeichel. The goal took the 31-year-old onto 48 Premier League goals, one beyond Di Canio, and his celebration fit the moment, running over to collect a cardboard cut-out of himself before lofting it into the air Dirty Dancing style.
Antonio then added the gloss to the scoreline that the Hammers deserved, expertly controlling Vladimir Coufal’s cross before stabbing home beyond the stricken Schmeichel. That goal was Antonio’s third of the season, taking him level with Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes at the top of the standings.
The result means West Ham have won their opening two Premier League games for the first time since the 1997/98 season. Scoring 8 goals in their two games, the victory also took the Hammers top of the league by virtue of their superior goal difference.
Moyes proving a sure hand as Leicester have night to forget
The last time the London Stadium was full, West Ham sat in 16th place in the Premier League, only above the relegation places on goal difference. David Moyes had been in the job for just over two months and was yet to win over fans questioning his re-appointment.
Fast forward 17-months and few, if any, are questioning him now.
The Scot has built an excellent team, anchored by the brilliant Rice and Thomas Soucek in midfield. One of the best pairings in the league, they made it impossible for Leicester to play through them, intercepting passes and making tackles all over the pitch.
Indeed, with Lukasz Fabianski, Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna behind, and Antonio in front, Rice and Soucek are just one part of an excellent spine. Collectively, their height and power also makes the Hammers a threat from dead balls, as reflected by the fact West Ham scored 16 goals from set-pieces last season, more than any other club.
Yet there is variety to West Ham’s game. Coufal and Cresswell provide excellent delivery from out wide. Moreover, with Jarrod Bowen, Fornals and Benrahma, the Hammers possess creativity and guile. After spending much of last season on the bench, Benrahma now looks like he has adapted to top-flight football, starting this term on fire with two goals and two assists from the first two games.
With a Europa League campaign to contend with this season, the challenge for West Ham is to sustain such performances. Their squad, while possessing an excellent starting eleven, needs greater depth, especially considering the injury record of Antonio, their only recognised striker after the sale of Sebastian Haller in January.
Moyes could certainly use some help in the transfer window. West Ham have only signed two players this summer, a baffling statistic considering the Scot has proved he is adept at finding talent, signing Bowen, Soucek, Coufal and Benrahma during his second spell in charge.
Leicester, meanwhile, should not read too much into a result against a team they lost home and away to last season.
While disappointing – as manager Brendan Rogers said in his post-match interviews, his team simply made too many mistakes – three points from six is a solid start and one they can build on with a trip to bottom-place Norwich City on Saturday.
Post-match interviews
West Ham forward Michail Antonio, speaking to Sky Sports: “The atmosphere was amazing. There’s nothing better than scoring a goal, and you hear the roar from the fans.”
On breaking the record: “It’s amazing. [I’m] so relieved. In the first-half I think I was overdoing it trying to get the goal, but in the second half I was just playing the way I normally play, and I managed to get the goal.”
On the celebration: “I’ve not been celebrating of late because of VAR but making history, I thought I had to do something special!”
West Ham manager David Moyes, speaking to Sky Sports: “It was a super night for us. The team played really well. I know the sending off changed the outcome of the game a little bit, but overall we did a lot of good things tonight.”
On the atmosphere: “This reminded me of Upton Park tonight. It was great.”
On Antonio’s celebration: “It’s not something I’m keen on!”
Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers, speaking to LCFC TV: “Two of the goals were mistakes. We were in good possession of the ball and then we gave it away. The other goals we didn’t defend so well but it’s also really good play by Michail Antonio.”
On the red card: “If you look solely at the contact then it looks a very bad challenge. If [Perez] goes down when he gets clipped [by Cresswell] then he probably gets a free-kick, but he’s tried to stay on his feet and be honest. But he’s unbalanced and then he’s stretching and obviously then makes the contact.”
Featured image by @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London – https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfcunofficial/30602031285/, CC BY-SA 2.0; no changes made.
