Declan Rice sends Jarrod Bowen classy seven-word message after Michail Antonio tribute

Declan Rice sent Jarrod Bowen a classy message following West Ham's 2-1 win over Wolves. The 27-year-old forward fired the Hammers to victory at the London Stadium on Monday night to secure three crucial points in the Premier League relegation scrap.

Tomas Soucek put Julen Lopetegui's side ahead shortly after half-time before Matt Doherty levelled proceedings in East London. With just over a quarter of an hour to play, Bowen dragged West Ham into the lead with a brilliantly curled strike into the bottom corner.

The Hammers captain paid tribute to Michail Antonio, who was recently admitted to hospital after a car crash ahead of the game, during his goal celebration. He held up a jersey with his teammate's name and number on the back before punching the air.

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After the game, Bowen marked the victory with a celebratory post on Instagram, which had more than 35,000 likes by Tuesday morning. The England international captured the moment he honoured Antonio, with the caption: "A win that meant so much more. We are all with you @michailantonio [red heart emoji]."

Jude Bellingham 'liked' the post and Jesse Lingard left a nice message, but one comment from Declan Rice stood out. The former West Ham midfielder, who left to join Arsenal in July 2023, wrote: "Different class tonight jaz pleasure to watch [three clapping emojis]."

Speaking to reporters in his post-match press conference, Lopetegui also paid tribute to Antonio, dedicating the win to his striker. The Hammers boss said: "Today we dedicate the victory to Michail and his family.

"It has been very tough days. We love Mike a lot. He is a special player and a special person for us. I am sure that he is strong and he is going to overcome this and come back."

The West Ham players had a video call in the dressing room with Antonio ahead of the clash. Lopetegui added: "He was - okay, not in his best moment - in good humour. It was a special moment for us before the match. It is always important.

"Each victory is important, three points, and against a good team - a special team for me too. Today I think we deserved to win. That’s my opinion. We had a lot of chances, a lot of corners, and fortunately we took advantage of one of them [a corner, for Soucek’s goal]."