Leicester City 3-1 West Ham: Van Nistelrooy makes winning start with Foxes

Ruud van Nistelrooy made an instant impression in his first game as Leicester City manager as the Foxes battled to a 3-1 win over fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham.

Jamie Vardy fired Leicester ahead after just two minutes at the King Power Stadium, with his opener initially ruled out for offside before a VAR review led to the goal being awarded.

West Ham then dominated but could not take their chances, hitting the woodwork through Danny Ings before Tomas Soucek’s foul on Mads Hermansen led to a potential second-half equaliser being disallowed.

Bilal El Khannouss, who teed up Vardy’s opener, extended Leicester’s advantage with a smart finish just after the hour mark, before substitute Patson Daka blasted a third in the 90th minute.

Niclas Fullkrug netted a stoppage-time consolation for West Ham, but they remain 14th in the table as the pressure continues to mount on boss Julen Lopetegui.

Leicester’s first win since October, meanwhile, sees them climb to 15th, four points clear of the relegation zone after ending a five-game winless streak.

Starting with a win!

Delivered by @bcgame #LEIWHU pic.twitter.com/X90nFSbMLm

— Leicester City (@LCFC) December 3, 2024

Data Debrief: Vardy starts Van Nistelrooy party

Vardy’s opener for Leicester was his 100th Premier League goal involvement at home (73 goals, 27 assists), becoming the 14th occasion of a player reaching a century at a specific venue in the competition.

Indeed, Vardy has scored the first Premier League goal under six different Leicester managers, extending his own such record for a side in the competition (Claudio Ranieri, Craig Shakespeare, Claude Puel, Brendan Rodgers, Steve Cooper, Van Nistelrooy).

That opener teed up a peculiar record as Van Nistelrooy became the first manager to win consecutive Premier League games with those coming both for and against the same side (also 3-0 against Leicester with Manchester United).

In stark contrast, West Ham had 31 shots in this match, their highest ever tally on record (since 2005-06) in a single Premier League match, yet came away with nothing after further frustration.