Michail Antonio banters Declan Rice after penalty miss v West Brom
Michail Antonio took to social media to banter Declan Rice after his penalty miss for West Ham against West Brom.
The striker also joked about the miss in his post-match interview for Sky Sports, suggesting he ought to take over responsibilities after Rice hit the post.
And Rice’s wayward penalty means he now boasts the unwanted record of the fastest ever penalty miss in a Premier League game – less than two minutes had been played.
Antonio won the penalty too after being fouled by Sam Johnstone, and he may feel he deserved to take the spot-kick because of that.
His tweet read, “Take the positive with the negative, new record fastest pen miss @DeclanRice,” and included laughing emojis.
Change of penalty taker?
West Ham have had some trouble from the spot this season with Jesse Lingard also missing one against Leeds, though he did put in the rebound.
We lack a number one penalty taker in Mark Noble’s absence and after Rice’s miss we think Antonio deserves the responsibility.
His finishing has improved considerably since becoming a centre-forward and his late goal at The Hawthorns showed how clinical he is now.
It makes sense for our main striker to take penalties and by scoring more he should grow in confidence.
Rice’s effort was well-struck but he did not look natural when he stepped up, which is not surprising given he has scored once this season.
We are a little surprised Aaron Cresswell has not had his chance considering how good his set-pieces are – his well-struck free-kick in the second half on Wednesday shows the skill he possesses.
In other West Ham news, ‘Terrific’ – BBC pair blown away by ‘Fabulous’ West Ham star v West Brom.
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