BURNLEY, England:Striker Michail Antonio scored twice on his return from injury to fire West Ham United to a 2-1 win at Burnley on Monday which lifted them up to fifth place in the Premier League and kept alive their hopes of Champions League football next season.
The home side took the lead in the 19th minute when Chris Wood was brought down in the box by Tomas Soucek, and the New Zealand international picked himself up to drill the resulting penalty low to keeper Lukasz Fabianski’s right.
The lead was short-lived as Antonio, who was returning from a hamstring injury suffered in early April, split a pair of defenders to score with a bullet header in the 21st minute.
With West Ham pouring forward, Antonio added what proved to be the winner eight minutes later with a deft finish from a brilliant inswinging ball into the box from Mohamed Said Benrahma.
The victory lifted the Hammers to fifth place with 58 points from 34 games, three behind London rivals Chelsea in the race for the final Champions League spot.
“Everybody wants to play in the Champions League. I have been here a few years and there have been so many seasons we were fighting to stay in the league and now we have the opportunity for top four,” a delighted Antonio told Sky Sports.
“We are not going to give up on it, it’s a dream come true. We will keep fighting, keep pushing.”
Antonio almost completed a hat-trick early in the second half but his right-footed effort hit his standing leg with the goal at his mercy.
Burnley substitute Jay Rodriguez also spurned a great chance, blasting wide from point-blank range in the 64th minute.
Burnley, whose winless streak at Turf Moor extended to eight games, are 16th on 36 points.
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