West Ham striker Michail Antonio praises Manchester United duo after Old Trafford defeat: ‘They were on fire’

Michail Antonio’s West Ham were beaten by Manchester United (Pictures: Getty)

Michail Antonio felt West Ham deserved at least a point from their Premier League clash against Manchester United but praised ‘on fire’ David de Gea and Harry Maguire for thwarting the Hammers.

Marcus Rashford’s 100th goal for United separated the sides at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils continuing their revival under Erik ten Hag and West Ham losing their seventh game of the season under David Moyes.

Manchester United were the better team for large periods of Sunday’s game but had to resist late pressure from West Ham to secure the three points.

De Gea denied Antonio, Declan Rice and Kurt Zouma with impressive saves, while defenders Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw put their bodies on the line to prevent a late equaliser.

West Ham’s Antonio was particularly impressed by De Gea – who has started all 12 of United’s Premier League games this season – and Maguire, who was returning to the side in replace of the injured Raphael Varane.

The England centre-back lost his place in the team earlier in the season but Varane’s injury means he will likely feature more regularly in the coming weeks.

‘It was a very frustrating game for us,’ Antonio said on BBC MOTD2. ‘We definitely thought we deserved something from it.

David de Gea made a number of superb saves (Picture: Getty)

‘But that’s football. We had so many opportunities but David de Gea was on fire and Harry Maguire really put his body on the line.

‘Maguire’s come back in after the injury to Varane and he did really well. It was just one of those days for us where we couldn’t find the back of the net.

‘We can take positives from this but we’re definitely down because we could have got something from the game.’

Asked about the save De Gea produced to keep out Rice’s long-range strike, Antonio added: ‘I was so close to celebrating. I can’t believe he got there, he was just on fire, he’s got cat-like reflexes.’

West Ham manager and former Manchester United boss David Moyes also praised the performance of Spain international De Gea.

‘David de Gea was fantastic, we know how good a goalkeeper he is,’ Moyes said. ‘The two he saved towards the end were worldies. I am pleased that he’s in good form because he’s a great guy.’

Ten Hag, meanwhile, hailed the ‘spirit’ his side showed to resist West Ham’s late onslaught and climb to fifth in the Premier League, above Chelsea.

He said: ‘In this team it is a big attitude and winning spirit. You see that, the start of the season not that good but improving a lot.

‘We have to keep that process going. The fans also like it. You see developing a bond between the fans and the team, that is good.’

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‘We deserved something from the game.’