Written by @FredDWHU

Michail Antonio put on a Man Of The Match worthy performance against Liverpool to back up his recent resurgence in form. He looked unstoppable when he ran down the right flank and even gave support defensively when Fredericks needed it. He was gifted a goal for his efforts after Anderson played him through on goal from the free kick and he smartly tucked it in the bottom left corner. He’s been playing some of his best football at right wing this season but, throughout his West Ham career, he’s also played at right back and up front – so where does he play his best football?

Antonio’s most comfortable position is right wing and that is where he has featured most of this season. In his first season with the club, he played there and managed to net 8 goals in 26 matches. One of the goals came against Tottenham near the end of the season where we won 1-0, which was one of the best memories from that unforgettable last season at the Boleyn. He was on fire that season and his headers at the back post were a threat to any team. He has only really returned to that right wing position this season due to injuries and him playing in other areas, but he definitely plays his best and looks at his most deadliest when he’s over there.

At the start of the first season at the Olympic Stadium, we started to see his versatility come through as he played right back in some of the Europa League games we were involved in. However, the decision to play him in that position baffled the whole fanbase, and he never looked comfortable when he needed to defend. Michail is a big strong lad and this didn’t help him, as he wasn’t agile enough to stop the opposition’s wingers darting down the line – which caused us numerous problems. However, going forward he was electric, and gave us a different option to attack which we wouldn’t usually have had with Byram. During the winter period this season, he’s returned to that right back position due to Fredericks being injured and Zabaleta being unable cope with the amount of fixtures during this period. However, unlike a few years ago, he’s looked defensively stable and deadly going forward which helped us climb the table during December.

Antonio has never been the greatest finisher while playing for us, which makes it all the more baffling that all the managers he’s played under have tried him upfront! Under Bilic in the 2016/17 season, he often featured either up front or playing behind Carroll. Antonio is a fantastic header of the ball, and that is how nearly all 9 of his goals that season came from, but he never showcased that shooting ability that strikers need. That didn’t stop him becoming hammer of the year that season, however. When playing striker, he finds space that many strikers can’t, but it’s his finishing ability that lets him down.

Lets hope after his superb strike against Liverpool, he can carry that confidence for the rest of the season and net a few more.