West Ham regained their place in the Premier League top four with a deserved 3-2 victory over other European hopefuls Leicester City.
After a scary start to the game, it was Jesse Lingard who opened the scoring with a superb 28-minute volley curling into the bottom corner, leaving Kasper Schmeichel without a chance. Lingard’s second, a vintage just before the break, was not as glamorous at all but still gave West Ham an impressive lead at the break.
The hammers only needed a few minutes to add a third. Jarrod Bowen knocked home from close range, and Issa Diop thought he had added a fourth shortly after, only for VAR to call it offside.
Leicester reduced the deficit through Kelechi Iheanacho, first with a thunderous strike with 20 minutes left and a late poke for his second, but West Ham kept a nervous three points.
Diop was dominant throughout | JUSTIN SETTERFIELD / Getty Images
Lukasz Fabianski (GK) – 7/10 – Must be alert all the time but didn’t really have too much to do. Made some decent saves as well as a fantastic challenge to deny a certain goal from Pereira.
Vladimir Coufal (RB) – 7/10 – Went well at both ends of the field, even though he fluffed a fantastic chance for a second goal. Bottled it clearly in the penalty area, but compensated it with assists for Lingard’s opener.
Craig Dawson (CB) – 7/10 – Had a tough fight with Vardy and Iheanacho. Looked a little shaky at times but was happy to throw himself into everything and everything.
Issa Diop (CB) – 8/10 – Excellent defensively but made his biggest impact in the attack. His fantastic breakthrough for Lingard’s others deserves much praise.
Aaron Cresswell (LB) – 6/10 – Probably the most shaky of West Ham’s defenders. Spent time switching between CB and LB, but did not excel in any of these either. Forced off with an injury early in the second half.
Lingard was excellent | Pool / Getty Images
Mark Noble (DM) – 7/10 – In his 400th game for West Ham, Noble was solid. Went well to keep Leicester’s midfield quiet and kept things ticking with a decent pass. Left the game late with a worrying arm injury.
Tomas Soucek (DM) – 7/10 – Not involved in attacks as much as he would have liked, but Soucek did well in the back. Was unlucky to get an early yellow but did not get any more problems.
Pablo Fornals (RM) – 7/10 – Another whose attacking performance was poor, Fornals was excellent with his relentless pressure. Chased Leicester’s back line in many mistakes and helped keep his side on top.
Jesse Lingard (AM) – 9/10 – Jeeeez. An excellent first goal and a single second ensured Lingard’s saga continues. He was amazing.
Arthur Masuaku (LM) – 7/10 – No idea where he played to be honest. Comment described the formation as “four and a half on the back” (useful). Regardless, did some good work up and down the pitch, acting both as an edge and left back.
Bowen was impressive in a central role Justin Setterfield / Getty Images
Jarrod Bowen (ST) – 8/10 – Did a great job replacing Michail Antonio. Involved in Lingard’s others and took his own strike with real calm.
Good shift from the skipper! ?
Let’s go, Ben! ? #WHULEI 3-1 (82) pic.twitter.com/zVqor6tGU7
– West Ham United (@WestHam) April 11, 2021
Fabian Balbuena – 6/10
Ben Johnson – Not applicable
Sa Benrahma – N / A
Fofana had a respectable display | Julian Finney / Getty Images
Kasper Schmeichel (GK) – 3/10 – Maybe should have done better with Lingard’s opener but was definitely wrong for the second time. Caught in no man’s land when he let Bowen roll past him. Did not cover himself in honor of the third.
Daniel Amartey (CB) – 3/10 – Picked up at half time after a difficult first 45. Careless in possession and had difficulty handling Bowen and Lingard. Did not seem to be in back three at all.
Jonny Evans (CB) – 3/10 – Poor positioning everywhere allowed West Ham to roll through the “offside trap” too often. Blamable for both second and third goals.
Wesley Fofana (CB) – 4/10 – Was he Leicester’s best defender? Probably, but that’s hardly the biggest compliment. Didn’t directly contribute to his team’s downfall, so that’s nice.
Tielemans fought to keep up with Julian Finney / Getty Images
Ricardo Pereira (RM) – 5/10 – Ruined his usual devastation in attack but was pretty sloppy with his last ball. Struggled to deal with the strange two-headed left-back West Ham joined.
Youri Tielemans (CM) – 5/10 – Wanted the ball a lot but was absolutely chased by Noble and Soucek. Nothing could be started at all.
Wilfred Ndidi (CM) – 4/10 – It looked like he did not want this at all. Passing was careless and learned to defend by Noble. The Twitter brigade “Ndidi> Rice” went a little quiet.
Dennis Praet (CM) – 5/10 – At his first start in three months, Praet was pretty right before he hooked up at the hour mark. Got into some decent positions but seemed afraid to shoot and wasted possession once or twice.
Timothy Castagne (LM) – 4/10 – Overwhelming as a wing back but even worse as a midfielder after the break. Fought visibly to get the position.
Iheanacho took his goal well | Michael Regan / Getty Images
Jamie Vardy (ST) – 4/10 – Non-existent in attack, Vardy’s dry enchantment continues in front of the goal. He tried to compensate for it with his death but even that was not there.
Kelechi Iheanacho (ST) – 7/10 – Was extremely dangerous all the time, and although his clear chances were few and far between, he managed to hang a world champion and a tap-in to give Leicester a chance.
A second change for Leicester. # WhuLei pic.twitter.com/67QOrsvlkH
– Leicester City (@LCFC) April 11, 2021
Luke Thomas – 6/10
Marc Albrighton – 6/10
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