Recap
Leicester City opened the Ruud van Nistelrooy era with a bang, beating West Ham by a score of 3-1 at the King Power on Tuesday evening. Jamie Vardy opened the scoring in the second minute to give the Foxes a 1-0 lead at the break. Goals from Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka extended the lead in the second half before Niclas Füllkrug got a consolation goal for the visitors in injury time.
Let’s start with the good stuff: The Foxes looked imaginative and clinical in attack. In the early going, the Hammers’ back line was always a pass away from being undone by clever through balls and diagonal runs. Vardy looked like Vardy, bagging his fifth goal of the season and picking up a yellow card for a ridiculous challenge. Having both El Khannouss and Buonanotte on the pitch simultaneously opened new angles of attack that had been missing before.
Leicester City Training Session and Press Conference Thinkerman 2.0?
Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
But let’s not kid ourselves: There remains a lot of work to do. West Ham outshot the Foxes 31-8 and “won” on xG 3.09:1.35. The defending was very much of the “last ditch” variety and Mads Hermansen had far too much work to do. Wilfred Ndidi won 9 tackles and 4 balls in the air which is impressive if you don’t think about why he had to do so much. The gap between the attacking and defensive midfielders was exploited ruthlessly all evening. I can’t count the number of times I said “I can’t believe they didn’t score.” Mostly because I wasn’t counting, but you get the idea.
Still, the overall “vibe” of the team was noticeably more positive. That’ll happen when you’re ahead on 90 seconds, but the team held that attitude for the full 90 and you can count the number of times that’s happened this season on one hand, even if you spent too much time juggling chainsaws while drunk.
But, you know, three points. Those three points lift us back to 15th on the table with 14 points from 15 matches. We travel to the coast to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday and then move in the opposite direction to square off against Newcastle United on Saturday the 14th.
3 Takeaways
Jamie Vardy still has it. His form today was imperious. Sure, he only scored once, but he was Jamie Vardy and that cannot be overestimated.
I don’t know what to make of this, but it was interesting to see a central defender (Vestergaard) substituted on the hour with a 1-0 lead. My guess is it was either due to picking up a knock or this was a planned move. Either way, it was unusual to see.
Keep an eye on Buonanotte and El Khannouss playing together. The Moroccan was technically a winger, but he moved inside to let Kristiansen provide the width. Having two clever, technical players behind Vardy could potentially open up some very interesting options.
Leicester City: Mads Hermansen, James Justin, Conor Coady, Jannik Vestergaard (Wout Faes 60’), Victor Kristiansen, Wilfred Ndidi, Boubakary Soumare, Kasey McAteer (Bobby De Cordova-Reid 74’), Facundo Buonanotte (Jordan Ayew 91’), Bilal El Khannouss (Stephy Mavididi 74’), Jamie Vardy (Patson Daka 60’) (C)
West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski, Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Vladimir Coufal (Emerson 61’), Carlos Soler (Lucas Paqueta 61’), Tomas Soucek (Michail Antonio 61’), Edson Alvarez, Danny Ings (Crysencio Summerville 61’), Mohammed Kudus (Niclas Fullkrug 79’), Jarrod Bown
Key Moments and Notes
2’- GOAL! Bilal El Khannouss finds Vardy with a perfect through ball. He rolls the ball into the back of the net, but the flag is up. VAR takes a look and he was onside. 1-0 to the Foxes!
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5’- Close! Vardy is in behind yet again and it takes a brilliant save from Lukasz Fabianski to keep it out. He barely gets enough on it; it dribbles just wide of the post.
6’- What an open start. Jarrod Bowen cuts in from a wide position and curls it towards the far post. Hermansen makes a smart save to keep it out.
13’- How have the Hammers not equalised? Danny Ings hits the post and the ball could go anywhere and does. Several West Ham players take a crack at it, but every effort is blocked. Don’t feel like this one goal is going to be enough.
26’- Soucek has to score. The big Czech gets up to meet a cross at the back post and puts it wide. Hermansen had no chance of getting to that one.
28’- West Ham are dominating now. Bowen gets behind Kristiansen and forces Hermansen into a shin save. Or, more accurately, it came off Hermansen’s shin before he could move.
34- Again, how have the visitors not scored here? Bowen gets behind again and he fires the perfect cross-sum-shot across the face of the goal. It eludes Hermansen and perfectly dissects the far post and the onrushing Ings. So, perfect for Leicester, not so much for the Hammers.
45’- Justin and Hermansen collide as the keeper tries to collect a looping ball in the box. Two West Ham players take a pop, but Mads makes two fine saves in no-man’s land.
HALF-TIME: Leicester City 1 - 0 West Ham United
46’- We back in action and...I think van Nistelrooy has swapped his midfielders. It looks like Ndidi and McAteer on the left and Soumare and El Khannouss on the right? Maybe trying to get McAteer a little help defensively?
49’- Mohammed Kudus gets a free header 5 yards out and puts it 20 yards wide. He was offside anyway.
53’- A deep cross into the box nearly catches Hermansen out. That was going to drift under the bar, but he makes a smart save.
60’- Vestergaard and Vardy are off in favour of Patson Daka and Wout Faes. These feel like pre-planned moves.
61’- GOAL! Kasey McAteer, who has looked clever all night, slips a pass to El Khannouss in the box. He doesn’t have time to do anything but turn and shoot, but he gets it exactly right. It sneaks inside the near post and beats Fabianski. 2-0 to the Foxes.
Leicester City v West Ham United - Premier League #Instinctive
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67’- Close! El Khannouss has been a force tonight. He finds Ndidi in the centre of the box and he puts a powerful header on target from close range. Fabianski just gets a finger to it to turn it over.
71’- It’s been (almost) all West Ham since the goal, but the defenders are holding firm. Barely.
74’- Stephy Mavididi and Bobby De Cordova-Reid come on for El Khannouss and McAteer. Absolutely stunning match from El Khannouss.
81’- De Cordova-Reid tucks the rebound from Daka’s shot into the net, but VAR wants a look. It comes back because Buonanotte was offside in the buildup. It’s the right call, but it feels harsh.
90’- GOAL! Kristiansen sends Daka on his way and he only has the keeper to beat. He has support but decides to go it alone, blasting his shot into the top of the net at the near post. I’ve missed those goal celebrations.
90+1’- The final substitution sees Jordan Ayew come on for Buonanotte.
90+3’- GOAL! The visitors win a corner and it’s perfectly delivered by Summerville. Fullkrug rises highest and scores from close range. Just a consolation...I hope.
90+10’- There was time for the Hammers to get another, but not the ability. The Foxes hold on and take three crucial points.