Leicester City 3-1 West Ham United: Van Nistelrooy gets off to winning start as Foxes punish wasteful Hammers
Ruud van Nistelrooy commenced his tenure as manager of Leicester City with a successful debut, securing three Premier League points following a 3-1 victory over West Ham United at the King Power Stadium.
After a challenging return to the Premier League, Leicester appointed the relatively inexperienced Van Nistelrooy. Although he has only one English top-flight win as a coach—ironically, a recent 3-0 triumph over Leicester while serving as Manchester United's interim manager—he boasts significant Premier League experience as a player.
In a similar vein, Jamie Vardy provided his new manager with an ideal start by converting a pass from Bilal El Khannous, demonstrating composure as he slotted the ball past Lukasz Fabianski.
This goal was notable for two reasons: Van Nistelrooy became the third manager in Premier League history to witness his team score within two minutes of his first match, and Vardy achieved the milestone of scoring under a record six different Premier League managers.
Vardy nearly added a second goal shortly thereafter, but Fabianski thwarted him with a close-range save. Aside from this, Leicester posed little threat before halftime, while West Ham created opportunities, including a header from Danny Ings that was deflected onto the post by Kasey McAteer, and two saves from Mads Hermansen against Jarrod Bowen.
West Ham maintained their attacking intent after the break, with Tomas Soucek shooting over the bar and Hermansen tipping a deflected effort from Mohamed Kudus over the crossbar.
The Leicester goalkeeper nearly became the scapegoat when a misjudged punch allowed the ball to enter the net, but the goal was fortuitously disallowed due to a foul by Soucek on the goalkeeper.
This decision proved crucial, as Leicester quickly extended their lead. McAteer surged down the wing and set up El Khannous, whose first-time shot for his inaugural Premier League goal left Fabianski with no chance.
The situation for the beleaguered Julen Lopetegui nearly worsened when a close-range effort from Wilfried Ndidi was saved by Fabianski, preventing Leicester from increasing their lead further.
In the closing moments of regular time, Patson Daka delivered the decisive blow, driving the ball into the top corner of the net.
While Lopetegui can find some encouragement in the opportunities generated, including a late goal from Niclas Fullkrug, a change in management may be imminent at West Ham, as the team has secured only one victory in their last five matches and now sits merely six points above the relegation zone.
On the other hand, Leicester will be pleased to have broken their streak of seven competitive matches without a win, now trailing West Ham by just two points in the league standings.
SportsLigue