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NEWCASTLE, Aug 15 — West Ham United forward Michail Antonio missed a penalty before scoring with a thundering shot as the Londoners came from behind to outclass Newcastle United 4-2 in a breathless Premier League season opener at St James’ Park today.
Antonio collected Said Benrahma’s neat pass and blasted the ball past Freddie Woodman to make it 4-2, shortly after the debutant goalkeeper palmed away the forward’s poor spot kick only for Tomas Soucek to pounce on the rebound to put West Ham ahead.
Benrahma had earlier made it 2-2 with a header to put West Ham on course for a victory which seemed unlikely after they had conceded in the fifth minute to Callum Wilson.
The Newcastle striker came into the contest having netted eight goals in 10 top-flight matches against West Ham, and he did not take long to spark celebrations as he nodded in Allan Saint-Maximin’s cross.
Boyhood Newcastle fan Jacob Murphy guided his header into the goal from Matt Ritchie’s pinpoint cross to make it 2-1 after West Ham left back Aaron Cresswell had levelled the scores.
But Murphy went from hero to villain later in the game as he fouled Pablo Fornals to concede the penalty that led to West Ham’s revival. — Reuters
