The Moyes boys are rampant
LAST-GASP MICHAIL STUNS BIELSA
MICHAIL ANTONIO’S 90thminute winner reinforced West Ham’s reputation as the Premier League’s most-improved side and left Leeds waiting for their first win of the campaign.
The result will fuel the debate about second season syndrome for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
Entertainment-wise, there was very little wrong with Leeds.
They were vibrant, ambitious and full of attacking ideas.
But there was also a naivety about the home side, whose gameplan too often leaves them exposed.
When a late raid was broken up, Declan Rice surged forward and slipped the ball to Antonio, who beat Jamie Shackleton far too easily to celebrate his return following suspension with a fifth league goal this term.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, especially coming from a goal down against a quality side like Leeds,” said the Hammers hero.
“The way they play is completely different. I’ve never run a marathon but that is the closest thing, it was so hard.
“To come away with three points is quality. The feeling is relief.”
The scoreline was cruel on Leeds, who had gone toe to toe with West Ham.
But after Raphinha (left) had fired them into a firsthalf lead, they were pegged back on 67 minutes by Jarrod Bowen’s shot, which took a double deflection off Liam Cooper and Junior Firpo, and never really recovered.
Bielsa said: “We did not deserve to lose but sometimes when you try to preserve a lead, sometimes you forget what got you there in the first place.
“A succession of bad results, an absence of points and our position in the table are factors which would affect the morale of any team. But when the performance is not negative, a recovery becomes more probable.”
This was end-to-end football at its most frenzied.
But the visitors started stronger and, crucially, finished the better with the home side struggling at times to contain Antonio and Said Benrahma.
Leeds needed Illan Meslier in fine form to keep their goal intact early on.
Benrahma had already gone close before nudging a pass to Antonio, whose
drive was turned behind by the keeper. On 10 minutes, Antonio returned the compliment, dragging in two defenders to find his team-mate on the edge of the box, and this time Meslier did even better to keep out Benrahma’s curler.
Lukasz Fabianski got in on the goalkeeping heroics, diverting a Stuart Dallas piledriver over his own bar before saving Raphinha’s 20-yarder.
Leeds broke the deadlock in the 19th minute. Rodrigo seized on Tomas Soucek’s poor control to charge down the left. He fed Mateusz Klich on his inside and when the Pole worked the ball to Raphinha, he made no mistake from the edge of the box.
Fifteen minutes later, he went close to stretching the lead with another missile, which cannoned off the post.
West Ham should have been level at half-time but for Meslier, who flung himself at the feet of Pablo Fornals after Antonio sent the midfielder through.
Soucek thought he had equalised in the 52nd minute when he tapped home after Antonio had challenged Meslier to a high ball.
Referee Kevin Friend awarded the goal, but after reviewing the incident and spotting that the striker had caught the Frenchman in the face with his forearm, he backtracked and booked Antonio – to the fury of the Elland Road crowd who felt he merited a red card.
Leeds were still cursing a deflection that sent Klich’s effort inches wide when Bowen’s cross-shot ricocheted off two defenders and into the net.
And then came Antonio’s suckerpunch.
“It’s a great win for us and I’m just thankful we got there,” said West Ham manager David Moyes. “It was endto-end stuff. You end up getting sucked into a similar game to Leeds because of the way they play.”