West Ham 0-2 Leicester: Player ratings as clinical Foxes continue impressive form
Leicester extended their winning run in the Premier League to four in five games with victory over West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Foxes were efficient and clinical in the capital against a Hammers side that had more of the ball and more opportunities to score. James Maddison, who is suddenly an injury doubt for the World Cup after lasting just 24 minutes, and Harvey Barnes scored the goals, which ensured that a missed penalty from Youri Tielemans ultimately made no difference to the result.
Even before scoring early, Leicester initially began the stronger of the two sides and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall tested Lukasz Fabianski after only a couple of minutes. It then wasn’t very long before Maddison’s fired the Foxes in front, capitalising on a miss-kick from teammate Patson Daka that inadvertently turned into an assist and lashing the ball high into the top corner at the far post.
The Hammers came into it after and had the better of the play and chances for a solid chunk of the first half, including several good opportunities for Lucas Paqueta. Tomas Soucek also had the ball in the net 35 minutes in, only to see an offside flag raised.
Leicester had the chance to double their lead somewhat against the run of play in the closing stages of the first half when VAR intervened to spot a foul on Daka from Craig Dawson in the penalty area. But Tielemans failed to convert from 12-yards, his effort comfortably saved by Fabianski.
Clear chances were a little more sparse after the interval, with West Ham missing the target several times and then getting caught on the counter attack just over 10 minutes from the end.
A West Ham move broke down in the Leicester half, giving substitute Ayoze Perez space to run into. The Spaniard played the ball into the space in front of Barnes, whose pace saw him surge past Nayef Aguerd and finish with clinical precision beyond Fabianski.
It means that Leicester sign off for the World Cup comfortably in mid-table, having been bottom of the standings little over a month ago. West Ham, meanwhile, have taken just four points from the last 18 on offer and will spend the next six weeks sat just abiove the relegation zone.
West Ham player ratings
GK: Lukasz Fabianski (7), RB: Thilo Kehrer (6), CB: Craig Dawson (6), CB: Kurt Zouma (6), LB: Aaron Cresswell (7), CM: Tomas Soucek (6), CM: Declan Rice (7), RM: Jarrod Bowen (7), AM: Lucas Paqueta (7), LM: Said Benrahma (7), ST: Gianluca Scamacca (6)
Subs: Nayef Aguerd (6), Pablo Fornals (6)
Leicester player ratings
GK: Danny Ward (8), RB: Timothy Castagne (7), CB: Daniel Amartey (7), CB: Wout Faes (7), LB: Luke Thomas (7), CM: Youri Tielemans (6), CM: Boubacar Soumare (7), CM: Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (6), RW: James Maddison (7), ST: Patson Daka (7), LW: Harvey Barnes (7)
Subs: Dennis Praet (6), Wilfred Ndidi (6), Ayoze Perez (7), Jamie Vardy (6), Nampalys Mendy (6)