Danish newspapers fume at Michail Antonio for controversial West Ham United moment v Silkeborg
West Ham maintained their perfect Europa Conference League record on Thursday night thanks to Manuel Lanzini’s penalty v Silkeborg.
West Ham secured a 1-0 win at the London Stadium, with Michail Antonio drawing a foul in the box to earn a penalty that was calmly slotted home by Lanzini.
Antonio was handed a starting spot by David Moyes, and the 32-year-old striker created the only talking point of the game when he went down after feeling contact from Silkeborg goalkeeper Nicolai Larsen.
While it was a welcome sight for Hammers fans, the decision didn’t go down too well with Danish newspapers…
Ekstra Bladet wrote: “A penalty was needed to help the expensive London boys into action. Not the biggest penalty in history.
“Nicolai Larsen came thundering out to follow the ball to the door, but the keeper also hit the Jamaican, who rolled around.”
Bold were also unimpressed with Antonio’s penalty appeal, adding: “Larsen made a clumsy penalty on Antonio, who also fell easily.
Berlingske wrote: “It took a rather thin penalty kick to put West Ham in front midway through the first half, when goalkeeper Nicolai Larsen brought down striker Michail Antonio according to the referee.”
Harsh but fair
Antonio did go down fairly easily against Silkeborg, but the truth is that the goalkeeper didn’t have to commit as much as he did and contact was made.
In the modern game, strikers are always going to go to ground after feeling contact. Antonio has every right to appeal for it and it turned out to be a decision that earned West Ham another three points in the Europa Conference League.
It was good to see the Jamaican forward handed a start after falling behind Scamacca in recent weeks. West Ham for so long lacked depth up front and relied on Antonio too much, so it’s refreshing to see rotation in the squad.
Moyes seems to be handling both Antonio and Scamacca well, with both forwards receiving plenty of minutes despite hardly ever playing alongside each other.
Scamacca’s absence on Thursday suggests he’s being rested ready for the exciting Manchester United clash on Sunday. Moyes made sure to address squad issues in the summer and bolster his squad, and he’s now reaping the rewards of his transfer strategy.