Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals score as West Ham conclude pre-season preparations with a 2-0 victory over Atalanta in the Betway Cup
- Michail Antonio an Pablo Fornals scored as West Ham won 2-0 against Atalanta
- David Moyes’ side managed to secure their fifth successive pre-season victory
- Said Benrahma was very impressive as West Ham concluded their pre-season
Michail Antonio and Pablo Fornals scored a goal at the end of each half as West Ham finished their pre-season preparations with a fifth straight victory by beating Italian side Atalanta at a London Stadium close to capacity for the first time in 18 months.
David Moyes’ men begin their Premier League campaign at Newcastle next Sunday and will be full of confidence after a solid pre-season.
Antonio followed up his brace in the Hammers’ 6-2 win at Celtic a fortnight ago with his third goal in three games, a volley in first-half stoppage time, as West Ham’s supporters returned en masse for the first time since beating Southampton in February 2020, before the pandemic.
Michail Antonio was on the scoresheet as West Ham beat Atalanta 2-0 in their final friendly
Pablo Fornals also found the net for West Ham who secured their fifth straight friendly victory
Pablo Fornals completed the scoring in the final minute by deflecting in a header from man-of-the-match Said Benrahma, who also struck the woodwork.
Benrahama scored in a 1-0 win against his former club Brentford last week, and this was another clean sheet for Moyes’s side. Atalanta, who finished third in Serie A last season, did not manage a single effort on target.
Moyes was able to make a raft of substitutions long before the end as his side cruised to the sort of well-organised win that enabled them to finish sixth last season and qualify for the Europa League.
David Moyes’ team will be full of confidence going into their season opener against Newcastle
They were rarely in trouble against the Italians. Before hitting the post, Benrahma had a shot and header saved by Juan Musso, who also did well to keep out an Aaron Cresswell free-kick.
But Antonio broke through in first-half stoppage time when Benrahma won the ball back on the edge of Atalanta’s penalty area and chipped it to his strike partner, who chested it down and volleyed past Musson.
Benrahma was involved again in the final minute when he headed a cross from Ryan Fredericks towards goal and the ball flew off Fornals and into the net.
The only slight doubt for West Ham was the absence of Manuel Lanzini, but a club spokesman said the Argentinian’s injury was not serious.