Michail Antonio form for West Ham United hits the skids, David Moyes could make brutal January transfer decision
West Ham United suffered their second Premier League defeat in a row to Liverpool at Anfield and Michail Antonio’s below-par performances could force Moyes into a brutal call in January.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty put Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead early in the game and though Jarrod Bowen equalised before the interval, Darwin Nunez’s volley on the hour restored the advantage before Diogo Jota rounded off a hard-fought 3-1 win on Sunday (24 September).
West Ham had opportunities throughout and competed well before succumbing to a second successive defeat which now leaves them seventh in the table, the previous one coming against Manchester City last weekend.
West Ham boss David Moyes has now lost 24 Premier League games against Liverpool, a joint record for a manager against one team, level with Harry Redknapp against Manchester United.
While Hammers boss Moyes can complain about lapses in concentration from his defenders, it was West Ham’s frailties in attack that ultimately cost them a surprise result and cost Moyes a surprise first away win at Anfield.
Clinical finishing has certainly become West Ham’s downfall for a long while now, especially against the big teams and after Moyes’ failure to acquire a striker over the summer window after sanctioning Gianluca Scamacca’s exit, it’s an issue that could well become a stick to beat the former Manchester United manager with.
One factor that has ultimately led to West Ham’s drop in scoring form and consistency in front of goal, despite tough games against Manchester City and Liverpool in their last two games, is Antonio’s form.
The Jamaican international’s impressive form has hit the skids dramatically with the Anfield blank now his fourth game without scoring and it’s now just two goals in his last seven in all competitions [SofaScore].
In fact, his overall performance against Jurgen Klopp’s Reds left so much to be desired in a clinical and ruthless number nine.
Antonio, picked up a woeful expected goals (xG) tally of 0.12, recorded just 24 touches, successfully completed just 63% of his passes, won just four of his 16 total duels at a dreadful rate of 25%, failed to register a shot on target, failed to record a single key pass [SofaScore] and missed a clear cut chance which will have provided Moyes with some much-needed impetus at a crucial spell.
Certainly, the Hammers added the qualities of Mohammed Kudus to help out with the goals but the Ghanian international needs time to acclimatise himself to his new surroundings which means West Ham United will be heavily reliant on Jarrod Bowen for regular goals until the January window, at least.
West Ham were linked with several names during the summer transfer window but simply failed to acquire the ruthless goalscorer they needed, but Antonio’s current form could well force Moyes’ hand in January.
A decision which could drop Antonio down the pecking order and ultimately lead to an unexpected exit despite signing a new deal this month (Sean Whetstone, 18 September).
In other West Ham news, the East Londoners may well have found their next Declan Rice in one burgeoning Belgian talent, an ambitious bid could be on the cards in January.