West Ham 1 - 2 Leicester
Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri continues dream start against West HamHome team scorersDimitri Payet 55
Away team scorersShinji Okazaki 27
Riyad Mahrez 38
Riyad Mahrez celebrates scoring Leicester's second in against West Ham the Premier League
First appearances can be deceptive, as Slaven Bilic and West Ham United discovered, but the early signs are that Leicester City are going to enjoy life under Claudio Ranieri. The sense of foreboding that surrounded Leicester after they sent eyebrows everywhere skywards by replacing Nigel Pearson with Ranieri during a difficult summer has been blasted by a team whose desire to prove a point to their many doubters has brought them six from their first two matches.
Relegation? If they perform like this every week, Leicester will be challenging for a place in the top half. They played with their chests out and had a strut in their stride at Upton Park and victory owed as much to their quality in attack as it did to their defensive resolve and togetherness. Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez scored the goals in the first half, but Leicester had to dig deep to withstand a fightback from West Ham in the second half.
For West Ham, their victory at Arsenal last Sunday is a nothing but a distant memory now. They remain a work in progress under Bilic.
Both teams had an air of confidence about them at kick-off and West Ham almost took the lead with their first attack, Mark Noble’s clever turn on the left drawing a hasty foul out of Andy King. Kasper Schmeichel flapped at Dimitri Payet’s free-kick and was relieved to see the ball drop just over the bar.
Yet West Ham’s fast start created a false impression. They were narrow and one-paced, while it was not entirely surprising that Reece Oxford struggled to replicate his performance against Arsenal. The game passed him by in midfield and the 16-year-old was replaced at half-time by Pedro Obiang.
Everything was in front of Leicester and the congestion in the middle meant that Payet was suffocated in his role behind Diafra Sakho and the lightweight Mauro Zárate. When Sakho did beat the offside trap just before half-time, he was frustrated by Anthony Taylor’s refusal to award a penalty for what West Ham felt was a clear foul by Schmeichel.
Leicester were far more balanced in attack and they had been threatening to score long before Okazaki grabbed the opening goal in the 27th minute.
Jamie Vardy’s non-stop hustle was an effective complement to Okazaki’s nimble movement and cute touches, and West Ham’s defence had their hands full with Leicester’s front two.
The goal was coming. Vardy, who was disciplined by Leicester last week for abusing a fellow gambler in a casino, broke down the left and although Adrian showed wonderful reactions to save a technically perfect volley from Okazaki, the ball looped into the air and the Japanese striker helped himself to his first goal in English football. Okazaki scored 29 goals in 70 games for Mainz and he already looks like a handy signing.
Leicester were rampant, West Ham were ragged. Okazaki and Vardy ripped them apart on the left again 10 minutes later and Mahrez scored his third goal of the season with an emphatic finish, thumping the ball past Adrian with his left foot. The Algerian winger is in the form of his life.
Obiang’s introduction steadied West Ham’s midfield and they began to repair some of the damage of the first half when Payet pulled a goal back in the 55th minute. The ball pinballed around the Leicester area, but Cheikou Kouyate retained his composure and found Payet, who swept a wicked shot high to Schmeichel’s right. It was Payet’s first goal for West Ham since his arrival from Marseille.
The volume rose, West Ham’s roaring their team on as they searched for an equaliser. Leicester wobbled. Zarate dribbled inside from the left and saw his shot blocked, while Sakho headed straight at Schmeichel from close range.
Sensing that defensive reinforcements were required, Ranieri took off Okazaki and bolstered his midfield by sending on N’Golo Kante. West Ham were also targeting Ritchie de Laet and Ranieri replaced the right-back with Yohan Benalouane.
Apart from a late chance for Sakho, whose snapshot was saved by Schmeichel, Leicester were comfortable and West Ham’s fight was extinguished when Adrian was sent off in stoppage time for karate-kicking Vardy in the stomach. The Tinkerman’s tinkering paid off.
Guardian