Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has said that West Ham United striker Michail Antonio is not a natural goalscorer after missing two crucial chances during Wednesday night’s FA Cup fifth round defeat.
The Jamaican international has come under criticism after wasting two golden chances during the Hammers’ 3-1 FA Cup fifth round defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, with the 32-year-old being put through on goal in both halves by Said Benrahma and Lucas Paqueta.
In the first half, Benrahma, who scored the opening goal after half-time, played a superb through ball between United’s starting centre-backs Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. Antonio controlled it and drove towards goal, only for his shot to go straight at goalkeeper David De Gea.
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In the second half, Paqueta’s pass sent away Antonio down the left side, with the striker skipping past substitute Lisandro Martinez and bearing down on goal. In a perfect chance to make it 2-0, Antonio had a perfect chance to pass to Benrahma, who was in a great position to score. Instead, Antonio’s shot was saved.
Speaking on Antonio’s opportunities, former United and Republic of Ireland star Roy Keane said that the two chances showed that he is not a natural marksman, despite being the Hammers’ all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League.
“He is not a natural goalscorer we have seen that in the first half, it’s just not there,” Keane told ITV. “You didn’t expect him to score both of those chances and they were huge opportunities.”
Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright shared Keane’s thoughts over Antonio’s performance. He added that Antonio should have passed to Benrahma in the second half, adding that not taking that chance ultimately led to United's comeback win.
“You have got to roll it across because it puts you 2-0 up,” added Wright. “You have to give yourself a chance because you know Manchester United are going to come.”
Joe Cole, who briefly captained West Ham and had two spells at the club as a player, says that he feels sorry for Antonio, who until this season, has often had the pressure of being the club’s only striker.
He felt that Antonio was lacking confidence, leading to him missing the two chances that he did.
“It’s difficult for him. He has been the number nine for so long and with players coming in, he has missed that chance,” explained Cole.
“The runs in the middle could be better, but he has to feed that ball across to the two of them. It’s just a bad decision in the final third and maybe a confident Michail Antonio finishes that but he is trying to make up for the chance that he missed.”
Antnio has scored seven goals in all competitions this season, but just three have been in the Premier League.
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