West Ham come from behind to extend Leeds' winless start to season

There would be a compelling case for Michail Antonio’s recall to the England squad had he not switched allegiances to Jamaica this season.

His winning goal at Elland Road came in the final minute of a match he compared to running a marathon, such was the work-rate of Marcelo Bielsa’s players. When his chance came he belied his tiredness and coolly finished as international-class strikers do.

David Moyes, the West Ham manager, says it was not one of Antonio’s best performances but he was still the match-winner, sealing the victory after Raphinha’s opener had been cancelled out by Junior Firpo’s own goal.

"I've never run a marathon but that is the closest thing, that's how I see it,” said Antonio. “It was so hard. They play man-v-man so they keep going and working right to the end, they are tireless. You run until you can't run anymore. To come away with three points is quality. The feeling is relief.”

He and Jamie Vardy are on five Premier League goals among English-born players, with Antonio’s assists nudging him ahead. And it was another reminder of how important he is to West Ham, having missed their only defeat of the season through suspension.

As he walked down the touchline a few Leeds fans who had stayed behind shouted “cheat” at him for a stray arm that caught Illan Meslier, who had earlier looked like earning a point for Leeds with a string of saves, the best coming early on against Antonio.

“I've seen Michail play better,” said Moyes. “He missed a couple of chances at the start but as a centre-forward you always wait in hope of that chance. His finish was magic.

“Everyone talks about him and he gets a lot of respect but the biggest is from me and the club because we value him. He's developing into a really good player.”

His winner meant Leeds dropped into the relegation zone but their mitigating factors are the players missing from their team. Bielsa has always made attack his best form of defence and that was the case with injuries and suspension leading to Jamie Shackleton, 21, and Charlie Cresswell, 19, on the right side of his backline.

Pascal Struijk’s ban for injuring Harvey Elliott, despite the Liverpool midfielder insisting there was no foul, has left a bitter taste, with chief executive Angus Kinnear taking aim at Jurgen Klopp after losing the appeal to overturn the punishment.

“Following the panel’s decision we were left with no other recourse than to humbly request to the Premier League that opposing head coaches are not selected to officiate any more of our games for the remainder of this season,” wrote Kinnear in his programme notes.

Leeds’ makeshift defence relied on Meslier to keep out West Ham in the opening stages. There was Antonio chance but also saves from Pablo Fornals, his best a one-on-one when the Spaniard raced through on goal.

With chances being created at both ends, Raphinha seized the advantage with his third goal of the season, which also left Tomas Soucek shaking his head in disappointment. The Czech Republic midfielder lost his footing in a dangerous area and seconds later West Ham had conceded.

Rodrigo Moreno hard work set up the chance and his cut-back was helped along for Raphinha to curl into the bottom corner. From a similar position he struck the post shortly after.

Antonio’s challenge on Meslier, which was shown on the big screen and angered home fans, came after Soucek had the ball in the net. Kevin Friend gave the goal but disallowed it after looking at the pitchside monitor.

Although bloodied by the foul, Meslier was able to carry on and next tipped away when Soucek met a corner with a header that was going towards the top corner.

He was finally beaten when Jarrod Bowen cut in from the right and his shot ricocheted off Liam Cooper and Firpo. Antonio’s dramatic late winner came after Declan Rice carried the ball forward and sent his team-mate through. Antonio danced past Shackleton and finished into the bottom corner. It is the first time since 1935/36 that Leeds have not won in the first six matches of a top-flight season.

"When you defend too close to your goalkeeper it is likely the opponents chances of scoring increase," said Bielsa.

Worryingly for Bielsa, Raphinha came off in the second half and needed ice-packs strapped to the back of his legs. "He let us know it was becoming difficult for him to stay on the pitch. Throughout the whole week he was recovering from the knock he received against Newcastle and played a great game for as long as he could stay on the field," said the Leeds manager.