Ruud van Nistelrooy’s tenure as Leicester City’s new head coach got off to the best of starts as the Foxes defeated West Ham United 3-1 in the Premier League on Tuesday night, Afrosport reports.
The former Manchester United interim coach, who was in the dugout at the King Power Stadium for the first time, watched on as his side took the lead inside two minutes through Jamie Vardy.
Vardy slotted the ball past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski after latching on to a pass from Moroccan midfielder Bilal El Khannouss. The English forward’s strike was his 100th goal involvement at Leicester’s home ground.
Chances fell to both sides in the remainder of the first half, with Jarrod Bowen’s deflected effort for West Ham clipping the post, and the Englishman also forced Foxes’ goalie Mads Hermansen to make a couple of great saves.
The hosts, however, doubled their lead a minute after the hour mark with Khannouss getting his name on the score sheet with a fine finish past Fabianski.
Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi came close to getting the Foxes’ third, but Fabianski denied him with a brilliant save, while West Ham’s attempt on the other end was thwarted by Conor Coady thanks to a superb goal line clearance.
Substitute Bobby De Cordova -Reid thought he made it three to Leicester, but his goal was ruled out for offside.
However, van Nistelrooy’s side finally got their third goal in the 90th minute through Zambian forward Patson Daka, who unleashed a fierce strike into the roof of the net.
German forward Niclas Fullkrug, then got a consolation goal for the Hammers, his first since securing a summer move from Borussia Dortmund.
The victory temporarily took Leicester into 15th in the Premier League standings with 13 points, one spot behind West Ham, who have two more points.
Elsewhere at Portman Road, a 59th-minute goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta was all it took to hand Crystal Palace a 1-0 away win against Ipswich Town.
Ruud van Nistelrooy, Leicester City, Football Premier League, Jamie Vardy, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town
