Ruud van Nistelrooy’s reign began with a bang but Leicester City needed plenty of good fortune to claim three points against West Ham.
The scoreline represents a superb start for the new manager, as Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka grabbed the goals to end their poor run and send them four points clear of the drop zone. But they were also thankful for Mads Hermansen’s brilliance, the woodwork and refereeing decisions as the visitors peppered the goal.
The victory means the good feeling is back at the King Power Stadium and sets van Nistelrooy up nicely. But they must improve if they are to steer clear of trouble this season.
Van Nistelrooy had just two days to prepare the team and so widespread changes were always unlikely. But he still shook things up, making four changes from the 4-1 defeat to Brentford, with Wout Faes left out of a league starting line-up for the first time in 13 months. Jannik Vestergaard, Victor Kristiansen, El Khannouss, and Kasey McAteer were the quartet to come in.
Leicester City Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy celebrates after Bilal El Khannouss scores to make it 2-0
Two of those fresh faces were involved as City made the perfect start. Kristiansen found El Khannouss and slipped an intricate through ball to Vardy. The veteran striker ran clear of the defenders, cantering towards goal and sliding the ball past Lukasz Fabianski with ease.
He turned his head and the offside flag he had been expecting was raised. But VAR was consulted and after a two-minute check, replays showed Vardy had timed his run perfectly, Konstantinos Mavropanos playing him onside.
Vardy looked fired up and nearly had a second moments later, Fabianski diverting his effort into the side-netting. But within a few minutes, West Ham had recovered from their shellshock and City had Hermansen and the woodwork to thank for the visitors failing to score from any of their 20 first-half shots.
Three times the City goalkeeper denied Jarrod Bowen in the first half, with the third save particularly special, the Dane getting down superbly to palm away a first-time effort that looked destined for the net. Earlier, Hermansen had been beaten when Danny Ings’ header deflected off James Justin, but the post was there to save him, with Vestergaard blocking the follow-up.
Trapped in their own half with West Ham dominating possession, City had to resort to attacking on the counter. They did enjoy one promising breakaway, with McAteer’s toe-poke kept out by Fabianski.
Just before the hour, West Ham finally did beat Hermansen and the woodwork, only to be denied by the officials. Hermansen flapped at a high ball under pressure from Tomas Soucek and the ball bounced into the net, but referee Josh Smith saw a foul. An escape for City.
And to rub the salt into West Ham’s wounds, City ran up the other end and scored. McAteer bided his time and laid the ball into the path for El Khannouss, who stretched to finish into the bottom corner for his first Premier League goal.
The game then became stretched as West Ham pushed to get the goals their play deserved. Again they came within a whisker when Crysencio Summerville bundled a cross goalwards, only for Conor Coady to clear off the line.
But City were having chances too and thought they had a third when substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid gobbled up a rebound, only for VAR to intervene for offside. They did get another goal as the clock hit 90 when Daka raced through and thrashed a shot into the roof of the net.
There was time too for West Ham to deny City a clean sheet. Niclas Fullkrug turned in a corner three minutes into added time, but it was too late for the visitors.
Mads Hermansen: Just superb. He denied Bowen excellently three times in the first half, with the final of those saves an excellent, instinctive low stop. His kicking wasn’t great, but this victory would have been very unlikely without him. 9
James Justin: He lost Ings for his header against the post, though did deflect it, and he had trouble keeping tabs on Kudus at times in the first half. But he defended the box well in the second period. 6
Conor Coady: He stepped out well at times, but he was at his best when camped in his own box, heading away crosses. That defensive know-how showed itself with his clearance off the line. 7
Jannik Vestergaard: He made a superb diving block to keep out Kilman’s rebound after Ings hit the post, and cleared a couple of crosses too. His more adventurous passes, usually so good, did not come off. 6
Victor Kristiansen: His link-up early on with El Khannouss was really good, his passing much improved. But very quickly he reverted to his usual lumps up the pitch, which put City under pressure. Although, one long ball did set up Daka’s goal. 6
Wilfred Ndidi: His passing was okay, but he just didn’t get on the ball as often as City would have liked him too. He made a few decent interventions when tracking back in the second half. 6
Boubakary Soumare: He showed great composure and strength when he got on the ball and that was exactly what City needed at times, just to slow the game down. Ran hard for the 90 minutes. 7
Kasey McAteer: He went backwards on the ball too often early on, but he consistently made penetrative off-the-ball runs, and those were a big asset when City started to play on the counter. Wasted a few moments but did set up El Khannouss well. 7
Facundo Buonanotte: There were some lovely touches and passes, but it was a night where a lot didn’t come off for him as well, especially with his dribbling. He’s still a great threat. 7
Bilal El Khannouss: Played a perfect through ball for the first goal and finished really well. He has to keep playing. His vision will ensure City are always dangerous when he’s on the pitch. If Hermansen was man of the match, he was the best outfield player. 8
Jamie Vardy: Fired up, the talisman striker was again the man to kickstart the new regime, doing so with brilliant striker play. He timed his run perfectly to stay onside and finished coolly. He was a threat in the box throughout and ran the channels well too. 8
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