Reggae Boy Michail Antonio says time playing video games at home inspired his goal celebration after West Ham United held on to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 in an English Premier League match at Selhurst Park on Saturday night.
The 31-year-old converted a delightful cross from Said Benrahma on 22 minutes to give the Hammers the lead. The striker then headed towards the corner before he dived forward spectacularly, puzzling many spectators.
Antonio later cleared up any confusion by revealing the fighting game Mortal Kombat was behind his celebration after his eighth goal of the campaign reignited West Ham’s hopes of a top-four finish following a slight wobble last month.
“So when I was playing Mortal Kombat, I was Raiden, and I said I was gonna do his celebration, which is where he’s flying across and pushes someone out the way,” Antonio told Sky Sports.
Mortal Kombat is a popular fighting game that emerged in the early 1990s. Raiden is one of the famous fictional characters depicted as the god of thunder and possesses the ability to control lightning.
One of his special moves is the forward dive to tackle rivals, and Antonio pulled off his version with aplomb, a report in the Daily Mail newspaper said.
Michail Antonio, who has also scored twice for Jamaica since making his debut for the Reggae Boyz last year, said Saturday’s goal against Palace had been perfect for him.
“It’s a striker’s dream, unbelievable,” he said. “It was there on a plate for me, and all I had to do was get a little touch on it to score.” (CMC)
