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Football

27th Apr 2019

Michail Antonio explains reason behind bizarre celebration against Tottenham

Michail Antonio became the first player to score against Tottenham at their new ground to give West Ham an away victory and celebrated with a bizarre dance

Reuben Pinder

As good a reason as any

Michail Antonio cemented his place in the history books – and thousands of pub quiz answers – on Saturday afternoon after he scored the first ever goal against Tottenham Hotspur at their new stadium.

The goal was flawless from start to finish. As Marko Arnautović picked up the ball out wide on the right, he delivered a delicately weighted pass over Toby Alderweireld into the path of Antonio, who took it down on his chest and walloped the ball past Hugo Lloris to give West Ham the lead.

But notable than the quality of the goal was the celebration. Antonio has become known for his weird and wonderful ways of celebrating goals over the past couple of years. From stroking the claret turf at the side of the London Stadium’s pitch, to pulling out dance moves your uncle might pull out at your sister’s wedding, Antonio is not shy of expressing himself during moments of elation.

This time, his celebration of choice can only be described as ‘miming riding a horse’.

In his post-match interview, Antonio explained the reasoning behind it, citing Instagram sensation Dan Rue as his inspiration.

“There’s a guy I follow on Instagram and he does loads of crazy dance moves,” he explained.

“I saw it the other day and thought ‘you know what? I’ve been busting it out in a couple of clubs and thought I’ve got to do it on the pitch.”

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