Another victory. Another winner by Michail Antonio.
There are several contributing factors behind the West Ham No 9’s blistering start to the season — including a change in his diet and extra work in the gym to strengthen his troublesome hamstrings.
In January, the in-form striker changed his diet and no longer eats red meat. Nine months on, it appears to be having the desired effect.
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Antonio has six goals in his eight league appearances this season. Only Mohamed Salah (10) and Jamie Vardy (seven) have scored more, and they’ve both played an additional game. And it is not just the changes to his diet where Antonio is feeling the benefits. His full-body workout includes single-leg Romanian deadlifts and jump split squats, which have allowed him to stay fully fit.
The 31-year-old told Sky Sports: “I’ve come to realise I’m no longer the young pup that I used to be. I kept believing that I was. There were certain things in life I was doing that I could have been better with.
“I used to eat what I wanted, I wasn’t the best eater. Now I’ve changed my diet and routine of life. And I’ve noticed since I changed my diet I’ve had less niggles and I’ve not felt my hamstrings at all.”
These days, West Ham supporters are more accustomed to seeing Antonio find the back of the net, as opposed to leaving the field with an injury. The forward has played 716 minutes in the league this season. After the first nine matches of 2020-21, he had only played 485.
It is well documented that Antonio was on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar when he was 14, but his mother told him to concentrate on his school work. Over the years, the Jamaica international has been Spurs’ chief tormentor and he was again in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over West Ham’s local rivals.
He gave Cristian Romero, the £47 million Copa America-winning Argentina centre-back, a tough time and has now scored more goals in all competitions against Tottenham (six) than any other Premier League side.
It was another poacher’s goal, too — and all 52 of Antonio’s Premier League goals have been scored from inside the penalty area, with only Tim Cahill (56) and Javier Hernandez (53) managing more goals in the competition where they were all from within the 18-yard box.
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Antonio is known for his indefatigable performances and there was a moment in the second half when Declan Rice lost possession and Tottenham broke on the counter. While the attack came to nothing, it was Antonio, harking back to his days as a winger and even a right-back for the club, who made a lung-bursting sprint to cover for Rice. Such unselfish play is what makes him a team player and a fan favourite.
In July, Antonio changed his shirt number from No 30 to No 9. That number was previously worn at West Ham in the Premier League era by Jermain Defoe, Dean Ashton, Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole. But it could become remembered most for Antonio’s growth into a consistent goalscorer.
When manager David Moyes opted not to sign a forward in the summer, many were puzzled given Antonio’s injury record. But Moyes will surely feel vindicated, considering Antonio is not only proving reliable in front goal, but also in terms of his availability. Since January, he has only missed five league games.
There was a time when Antonio was known for being profligate in front of goal but he has become one of the best forwards in the league — and with seven already in all competitions looks set to top his total of 10 from last season.
Team-wise, Sunday’s win saw West Ham leapfrog their visitors to move to fourth. It was another goal from a set piece, with Aaron Cresswell once more getting the assist. The full-back has now provided three this season in all competitions and, similar to Antonio with goals, could surpass his 2020-21 tally of eight.
It has been a superb start to the season for West Ham, with their 17 points after nine fixtures their best return since 2015-16 — when they finished seventh under Slaven Bilic.
“I’m pleased with the win because there was a resilience to the team,” said Moyes. “Some of our football this season has been so good. Today it was slightly different, but it was still good, and it was resilient, and there were still remnants of how you have to defend well if you don’t always have the ball and what you need to be and we showed that.”
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The win over Tottenham highlights once more why West Ham look capable of reprising their performances from 2020-21, which saw them finish sixth to book a Europa League place.
Antonio continues to excel, Rice seems to get better each week, Cresswell is supplying brilliant crosses, Lukasz Fabianski is still dependable in goal, Pablo Fornals has fantastic energy, Kurt Zouma has adapted seamlessly after his summer move from Chelsea and 21-year-old Ben Johnson has shown great maturity during Vladimir Coufal’s absence with a groin problem.
It says a lot that more West Ham players could get into Spurs’ team these days than the other way around.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have one of the best strikers in Europe in Harry Kane, yet it was Antonio who was the difference here yet again.
(Top photo: Tim Goode/PA Images via Getty Images)