Paul Merson has raved about Leeds United central defender Charlie Cresswell on Sky Sports News (5:18pm, September 25, 2021) and was impressed by his performance against West Ham United striker Michail Antonio.
The former Arsenal and Aston Villa star was following the Premier League game between Leeds and West Ham at Elland Road at the weekend for Sky Sports.
The West Yorkshire club lost the match 2-1.
Antonio scored the winner in the 90th minute.
Merson said on Sky Sports News (5:18pm, September 25, 2021): “I have got to give credit to the lad Cresswell.
“I know Antonio scored at the end, but I thought he handled him very very well today. Antonio didn’t really get a kick until the last five, 10 minutes of the football match.”
The Sky Sports pundit added: “I haven’t seen anybody play against Antonio like that, I haven’t really.
“Every time Antonio went to get it, he was like, he was big, he was strong, he went in and he found a hard day at the office, Antonio.”
Impressive debut
Antonio scored in the final minute of the match, and the West Ham striker will be pleased with that.
Cresswell ended on the losing team, and the 19-year-old will have certainly hoped for a better result on his Premier League debut for Leeds.
However, on a personal level, the teenager was very good against the Hammers and did well against Antonio.
The teenager made it hard for the Hammers striker to do much of note – except in the final minute, of course – and was strong at the back.
The defender had a pass accuracy of 76.1%, won three headers, took 80 touches, and made one tackle, one interception and three clearances.
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