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Football London
Football London
Sport
Robert Warlow

Thilo Kehrer heaps praise on 'important' Michail Antonio after West Ham impact vs AZ Alkmaar

West Ham United defender Thilo Kehrer has hailed Michail Antonio as a "great teammate" after his recent performances for the Hammers.

Antonio scored his 13th goal of the season as he netted the winner against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night in the first leg of the Europa Conference League semi-final at the London Stadium.

It was the forward's ninth goal in Europe for the Hammers and Kehrer has been full of praise for the impact the 33-year-old is having on the team.

READ MORE: Latest West Ham team news for Brentford clash with Vladimir Coufal and Michail Antonio updates

“Michail [Antonio] is working like crazy up front at the moment!” Kehrer said. “He is putting the defenders under stress and every game he is doing a very important job right now.

“He is scoring goals as well, so we are really happy that we have him. Mich is a great teammate. A great personality and positive energy. We all have a lot of jokes and laughs with him. He makes everyone have a good time and he is also a hard worker too.”

Antonio is, however, set to be assessed ahead of West Ham's Premier League clash with Brentford on Sunday, with Hammers boss David Moyes confirming that he had sustained a knock in the game against AZ Alkmaar.

Kehrer says that West Ham are in confident mood ahead of the game though, with the Hammers winning their last two matches against Manchester United and AZ Alkmaar in the past seven days.

"We have a really strong togetherness and a team of great players, but the most important thing is that we stick together. We have gone through the hard times, but what is very important is that we have hit our best form for the big games. And we just have to keep on going now," the German defender said.

“We have a great team and a great belief in the way we work and the way we play. All of that is working and we feel the energy rising every game, and going towards the end of the season we are only getting better.”

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