‘I am backing’ - Michail Antonio’s pre-match comments obliterated by Liverpool victory

West Ham’s Michail Antonio was forced to eat humble pie at the weekend as Liverpool recorded a 3-1 victory over his side.

Antonio’s pre-match comments came back to haunt him as Jurgen Klopp’s men maintained their strong start to the season thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota, despite a Jarrod Bowen equaliser which had threatened to thwart their winning run.

Liverpool now sit second with 16 points, just two behind Manchester City after winning five of their first six games in what has been a remarkable opening to the new campaign.

Whilst the Reds came away with a strong victory, they weren’t without their hairy moments. Tomas Soucek and Antonio both had glorious chances that went to waste and the home fans were definitely happy to see the forward fluff his lines after his comments last week ahead of the Premier League matchup.

Speaking prior to the game, he said: “I am backing myself over Liverpool. You know what, I think we are going to finish higher than Liverpool this season. I’m putting it out there.

“I watched the game [Wolves vs Liverpool] because it was before our game and Wolves could have run away with it. They had quite a few opportunities. We’ve got them this weekend and it’s a six-pointer.”

Antonio then went onto produce his lowest-rated performance of the season to date (according to Sofascore) as he missed one big chance, had just 24 touches, won none of his six aerial duels, had just one shot - which was off target - and managed just five passes in what was an afternoon to forget.

Defender Joe Gomez spoke after the game on the threat of the Jamaican striker, who has developed into a strong Premier League forward across the last five years, as the right-back enjoyed another strong showing.

“West Ham have got great quality, they’ve got it up front and throughout the team. Michail Antonio is a big threat and we knew that was going to be difficult,” Gomez said post-match.

The Hammers now sit in sixth place after losing back-to-back games to Liverpool and Manchester City and they can still take plenty of positives after their start to the new season.

For Antonio, it’s likely that those type of pre-match comments won’t be his last, but he will have certainly learned some humility after the defeat.

And with Liverpool targeting silverware and glory once again, the two sides are likely to be worlds apart when it comes to the end of this season.