Premier League star apologises to Liverpool after making 'deluded' comment about their season

West Ham's Michail Antonio has addressed his recent outlandish prediction regarding Liverpool and has issued an apology to the players and fans for his comments.

The West Ham star made a bold claim back in September when his side faced the Reds at Anfield. Speaking on the Footballer's Football Podcast, the striker said confidently that he was 'backing himself' to not just beat Liverpool but to finish higher than them in the Premier League table.

"You know what, I think we are going to finish higher than Liverpool this season. I'm putting it out there," he said. "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. We've got them!"

Liverpool had not lost a match in the lead up to their meeting with West Ham and had entered the clash off the back of their 3-1 win over Wolves. The Reds then recreated a similar scoreline and put three past the Irons, with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Núñez and Diogo Jota all finding the back of the net.

Antonio started the match but had little impact on the game. He failed to register a shot on target, lost possession 11 times and lost all of his attempted aerial duels. Since then, West Ham have had a mixed bag of results and are currently ninth in the league table on 36 points, 24 behind leaders Liverpool. The Irons are without a win since their 2-0 victory over Arsenal in December.

Returning to the Footballer's Football Podcast, Antonio joked that he still didn't want Jurgen Klopp's side to win the title as Liverpool fans were 'still in his inbox'.

"Get lost! I'm saying it with [my] chest. I don't want Liverpool to win the league! Come for me! Arsenal get it. Man City, get it. That's all I have to say about that!"

However, he has since issued an apology and explained the reasoning behind his bold prediction. The 33-year-old was forced onto the sidelines in November with a knee injury and missed 12 matches before returning against Nottingham Forest. Antonio has contributed two goals and two assists in the league so far this season.

He said: "They weren't gelling at all together, I thought we might be sixth or seventh. There were lots of stats about Klopp having seven or eight years and then having a bad time, it was just one of those things. I was obviously deluded at the time. So I am going to have to hand out a public apology to the Liverpool fans and the Liverpool players. I take it back."