THIS ONE'S FOR ANTONIO West Ham United's players wear the shirt of his teammate Michail Antonio as part of tribute following his car accident, during the warm-up prior to the English Premier League football match against Wolverhapton Wanderers at the London Stadium, in London on December 9, 2024. West Ham said forward Michail Antonio has undergone surgery on a lower limb fracture after a serious car accident on December 7, 2024. Picture: Adrian Dennis / AFP
Image: Adrian Dennis / AFP
West Ham United dedicated their triumph to their forward Michail Antonio, as they picked up just their fifth win of the Premier League season after they dispatched Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at the London Stadium on Monday evening.
Antonio was involved in a serious car accident on December 7, as he had to be cut out of his Ferrari in Epping.
After surviving the crash, Antonio had surgery on a lower limp and is still being closely monitored in hospital.
West Ham, meanwhile, scored the opener in the 54th minute as Tomas Soucek netted. Wolves then equalised in the 69th minute through Matt Doherty, before Jarrod Bowen responded with the winner three minutes later for the London club.
The win saw West Ham rise to 18 points in 14th position after 15 games. Wolves remained on nine points, and second from bottom.
With the match taking place at West Ham’s home ground, a minute of applause was held in the ninth minute which corresponded with Antonio’s jersey number.
After scoring the winner, Bowen said: "That meant everything. To share that moment, he's not here with us but I'm sure he was watching and the fans, you heard them. An emotional couple of days.”
Meanwhile, Soucek revealed that Antonio was able to video call the team just before kick-off.
"We had a video call with him, the whole team, before the game. He smiled to us and gave us all the best. I can't wait to visit him," said Soucek.
"He is a really lovely guy and also funny. He even made a few jokes before the game and he wished us all the best."