West Ham United forward Michail Antonio grabbed his first-ever career hat-trick yesterday, putting four goals past Norwich City.
The 4-0 win for the Hammers saw the Canaries go down following their 24th defeat of the campaign, but it boosted the survival chances of David Moyes’ side, with six points now between them and the relegation zone.
French striker Sebastien Haller hasn’t been fit enough since the Premier League resumed action last month, coming off the bench in the last two games, and Antonio has been tasked with leading the line for West Ham.
The 30-year-old hasn’t disappointed, scoring six goals and assisting once in six games.
The Hammers star was simply unplayable against Norwich, and his heroics and record-setting performance saw BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker and ex-Hammers trio Trevor Sinclair, Tony Cottee and Carlton Cole react thus on Twitter:
Well played @Michailantonio who becomes the first @WestHam player ever to score 4 goals in a Premier League game. 👏🏻👏🏻
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) July 11, 2020
Man of men, well played young man 🙌🏾
— Trevor Sinclair (@trevor8sinclair) July 11, 2020
Welcome to the @westham #hatrickclub @Michailantonio . The first away league hatrick since mine in Jan ‘87! 🙌⚒⚽️⚽️⚽️#westham #hammers #goals #football #coyi #oremierleague pic.twitter.com/HMAzvFMWWu
— Tony Cottee (@TonyCottee9) July 11, 2020
My G 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
— Carlton Cole (@CarltonCole1) July 11, 2020
West Ham host Watford next Friday before a mid-week trip to Manchester United.
They face Aston Villa on the last day of the campaign and the match could have a huge say on their survival chances.
Moyes will hope Antonio’s goals can come handy going forward, and it will be interesting to see how the Hammers star fares in those crucial games.
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