Ruud van Nistelrooy made the perfect start as Leicester City manager with a 3-1 win over West Ham United at the King Power Stadium.
The win extended the Foxes’ gap to bottom 3-4 and snapped their six-match winless streak.
However, this defeat puts additional pressure on “West Ham” head coach Julen Lopetegui, who was “fired in the morning” chants by his own club’s fans during the defeat.
“I think this is the beginning of the end for Lopetegui,” concluded Tim Sherwood Sky Sports Football Special. “You can’t capitulate like this.”
Jamie Vardy opened van Nistelrooy’s new regime with a pop in just the second minute.The veteran striker’s goal was initially ruled out for offside but was allowed to stand after a lengthy VAR review.
West Ham responded well to go back and went close through Danny Ings, one of five changes on the night from Lopetegui, as his header hit the woodwork after a deflection.
The pressure was on for the home side but Mads Hermansen’s five first-half saves ensured the Foxes’ lead remained intact at the break.
Despite the visitors’ dominance, Leicester doubled their lead through Bilal El Khanous just minutes after West Ham saw an equalizer disallowed for offside.
Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring the first goal of the game
Tomas Soucek was at fault after the midfielder was found to have obstructed Hermansen in the area before slotting the ball past the Foxes’ keeper.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid saw his effort disallowed, but the Foxes would find their third through Patson Daka on the stroke of half-time to complete an impressive first outing for the new boss.
Lopetegui’s side, meanwhile, have suffered eight defeats this season but the Spaniard will be hoping Nicklas Fulkrug’s first goal for the club from the bench in the 93rd minute can be a confidence boost against his former side Wolves. Live on Sky Sportsnext monday
Sherwood. The beginning of the end for Lopetegui
Sky Sports’ Tim Sherwood speaking Football special:
“West Ham had better players on the bench than they did on the pitch. And I can’t believe the way they defended in the half-way line. It just didn’t make sense.
“It was bad from West Ham, but credit to Leicester. Personally, I think this is the beginning of the end for Lopetegui. You can’t capitulate like that.
“They play like they’ve just been thrown on the field and wherever they land, they play.
“There is absolutely no structure to their game. The manager has got it all wrong. There are more questions than answers for Lopetegui. He had a bad night.”
Lopetegui. We deserved so much more
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui talking to Amazon Prime.
“It’s a disappointing night because we deserved a lot more. It’s not easy to play football.
“We had 31 shots in the opponent’s field, usually you have to win this game. We had a lot of chances, but we didn’t score.
“Tomorrow we will start looking for the next challenge, knowing that we are able to change the situation.
“They want to win for themselves, for me and for the club. Today is the day where we deserved more. The next one will be the most important, we have to be focused.”
Van Nistelrooy. We can look further
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy talking to Amazon Prime:
“I think first of all we need to get some kind of performance with energy and cohesion and spirit to connect with the crowd and I think they did that.
“For us going forward, it’s about everybody pulling their socks off, fighting for every inch, everybody fighting and fighting for each other from there, we can look further. They did it in an unbelievable way.”
Mixed feelings in King Power
Sky Sports’ Patrick Rowe.
Two teams on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to optimism.
For Leicester, it was the perfect introduction for Van Nistelrooy as his side took their chances in a way the boss would have been proud of during his playing days and backed up this display with the defensive play to go along with it.
However, the situation is getting bleaker by the day for West Ham, the win against Newcastle just patched up the cracks in this team who seem to lack ideas and identity when the games start to turn against them.
While either team can look forward to their next meeting with hope and excitement, Lopetegui and his players will likely be scared of banana skins against his former side Wolves. Live on Sky Sportsnext monday
Problems defensively against Arsenal and now struggling at the other end against Leicester.Add in their ever-changing midfield and the problems prevalent in this team become clear.
