David Moyes and Michail Antonio have explained why the latter took West Ham's penalty against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers' usual penalty taker and captain Mark Noble was on the pitch when Paul Pogba blocked Declan Rice's free kick with his hands to gift the away side a spot kick, which Antonio duly converted.
The game finished 1-1 after Mason Greenwood equalised for the Red Devils, but the result means West Ham are now safe from relegation.
Moyes, speaking in the post-match press conference as reported by Football.London, insisted the decision was based on Antonio's recent form.
“Mark Noble is the normal penalty taker but actually felt today [Wednesday] that Micky Antonio was the right choice," said Moyes.
"His goals have been big for us, we probably wouldn't have been in such a good position without his goals so I had no problem with it at all. We practiced them the other day in training as well so I had a feeling that he may well take one if we got one."
Michail Antonio certainly saw the funny side of Paul Pogba's handball! ?
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 22, 2020
The Frenchman did not look impressed... ?
Report as #WHUFC secure their Premier League safety with Old Trafford draw: https://t.co/WfrHcIMHZi pic.twitter.com/eKdInua01H
No one has scored more goals than Antonio since the restart. The 30-year-old has now hit eight of his ten league goals this season since the Premier League returned in May.
Speaking to the club's website Antonio added: "Me and Nobes talked and he asked me what my target was for the season. I said it’s ten goals and it’s been my target for the last five years I’ve been here.
"I’ve never been able to reach it - I’d got to nine a couple of times but not ten - so he said if we get a penalty in the next two games he’d give it to me because I’d scored so many important goals for us this month and he believed I would score."
⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) July 22, 2020
The @premierleague top goalscorer since the restart!@Michailantonio ?#MUNWHU pic.twitter.com/7UBh6jrrSl
"I honestly didn’t think we’d get a penalty, and when we got it, I didn’t think he’d still give it to me! But as soon as they made the decision on VAR he said: ‘Are you ready?’ And I said; ‘Yes I am.’ I knew where I was going to put it. Because he spoke to me in the week I had a couple of practice penalties, so because I knew where I was going to put it I was confident, and just slotted it home."
Despite finishing the spot-kick well, the forward said it will be back to normal on Sunday when West Ham host relegation threatened Aston Villa.
He added: "Nobes will be back on them from Sunday, this was literally so I could hit my target of ten goals for the season and hopefully I can score another in open play!"
Source : 90min