West Ham started their season perfectly, securing a commanding win against Leicester City at the London Stadium. Thanks to a brace from Michail Antonio, the Hammers cruised to a 4-1 victory. This result extends a trend from last season, where West Ham were the only team to defeat Leicester twice. For the 2021 FA Cup winners, this marked their first stumble of the current campaign.
West Ham had a perfect start to the season by defeating Leicester City at London Stadium. Michail Antonio netted twice and helped his team to secure a 4-1 win over Leicester City. West Ham was the only team to beat Leicester twice in the league last season and extended their winning streak in this season too. The 2021 FA Cup holders had their first defeat of this season.
Currently leading the league after winning both of their opening fixtures, West Ham delivered a stellar performance fueled by a vibrant atmosphere in the stands. While Youri Tielemans scored the only goal for the visitors, the Hammers' attack was spearheaded by goals from Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma.
The match was largely under West Ham's control, evidenced by their 52% possession and a solid 85% passing success rate. The disparity in attacking threat was clear, with the Hammers forcing seven shots on target while Leicester managed only one. West Ham's poise was rewarded in the 26th minute; following a quick exchange with Benrahma on the left, Fornals drove into the box and beat keeper Kasper Schmeichel with a precise finish from 10 yards.
Leicester's game fell apart in the 40th minute due to a critical error, resulting in Perez being sent off for stamping on Fornals' ankle. The incident occurred as Perez tried to recover the ball during a clash with Aaron Cresswell. After reviewing the play via VAR, referee Michael Oliver issued a red card—the first of Perez's career across 274 appearances in English football.
Things went from bad to worse for Leicester when Caglar Soyuncu played a careless pass. Antonio intercepted the ball and quickly squared it to Benrahma, who hammered it home from 12 yards to make it 2-0 in the 56th minute.
Despite the setback, Leicester remained aggressive and managed to pull one back when Youri Tielemans scored from close range, capitalizing on a failed clearance of James Maddison's cross. However, Michail Antonio effectively ended the contest by netting twice in the final 10 minutes.
Antonio's first came from a Declan Rice cross; he held off Soyuncu, turned the defender, and calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner. Just four minutes later, he showed great skill by flicking the ball over two defenders and turning them both to score from point-blank range.
With his 48th goal, Michail Antonio officially became West Ham's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, surpassing the long-standing record held by Paolo di Canio. He celebrated the milestone in unique fashion by lifting a cardboard cutout of himself.