Ruud van Nistelrooy got off to a winning start as Leicester City boss with an important win over West Ham United.
The Foxes moved four points clear of the bottom three after a Jamie Vardy first half goal was followed up by Bilal El Khannouss’ first Premier League goal and Patson Daka, who scored for the first time since his return from injury.
Van Nistelrooy was warmly received by Leicester fans inside the King Power Stadium and 48-year-old was able to leave with a smile on his face after kicking off his tenure with a win.
It wasn’t as plain sailing as the score suggests though as West Ham had 31 efforts on goal and if it wasn’t for the brilliance of Mads Hermansen, who wowed Leicester fans with his first half display, it could’ve been a different story.
Ruud van Nistelrooy manager / head coach of Leicester City during the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and West Ham United FC at The...
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Ruud van Nistelrooy’s tactical tweak helped Leicester beat West Ham
Van Nistelrooy revealed he had spoken to Enzo Maresca before taking the Leicester job and that evident in the side’s setup.
Out of possession, the Foxes moved into a 4-4-2 to keep a strong defensive structure, something the Dutchman said would form a key part of Leicester’s identity.
Kasey McAteer was a surprise name on the team sheet and struggled to get into the game in the first half as he came up against Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Although the Leicester academy graduate made some good runs, he was often beaten by the full-back.
Kasey McAteer of Leicester City under pressure from Vladimir Coufal of West Ham United during the Premier League match between Leicester City FC an...
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But when the players came out for the second half, Van Nistelrooy had tweaked the side around, keeping McAteer on the left, who would this time come up against Vladimir Coufal.
There he experienced far more join and set up El Khannouss, who was singled out by Van Nistelrooy, for the Foxes’ second goal.
Even though Leicester were leading at half time, the decision to tweak it slightly to benefit the team was a welcome sight as under the previous regime, a lack of foresight is ultimately what cost Steve Cooper his job.
Leicester already have their spark back under Ruud van Nistelrooy
Considering Van Nistelrooy had less than 48 hours to work with the squad, many will say this was Leicester’s best all-round performance.
Stats only tell half the story and despite a West Ham onslaught, Leicester remained tough to break down and caused problems of their own on the counter.
Players looked as if they knew what was expected of them and all of them responded well to reverting to a style of football that was so successful for them in the Championship.
Under Cooper there was a sense of pragmatism and air of defeat before a ball had been kicked. That looked like it went away the second the game began.
There is still another few gears to find and that will come with more time on the training pitch over the coming weeks.
Van Nistelrooy revealed he celebrated with a beer after the win and after that first performance, we can’t blame him.
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