On Thursday at the London Stadium, West Ham comfortably overcame Leicester City, who are having a tough time in the Premier League, with a score of 2-0 due to an own goal just before halftime and an early strike from Tomas Soucek, celebrating his 30th birthday.
Both goals resulted from unsuccessful clearances, with Soucek nudging the ball in from a short distance in the 21st minute and Jannik Vestergaard inadvertently redirecting a shot from captain Jarrod Bowen into the net. The home side capitalized on the defensive shortcomings of the away team.
West Ham Resurgent Form Under Graham Potter
Following a surprise 1-0 victory at Arsenal, West Ham under manager Graham Potter had won two straight games. This was an improvement in form after the team lost three and drew one of their previous four games.
The games were quite different from one another, Potter remarked. It was essential for us to recognize our responsibility in tonight’s match, which was to maintain possession of the ball more effectively.
Leicester stayed solidly in the relegation zone in 19th place, five points from safety, while West Ham leapfrogged Everton into 15th place.
Leicester has suffered defeats in 11 of their past 12 league matches, securing only two victories during Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 14 league matches as manager. They have a challenging end to the season ahead, with Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest still on their schedule.
Tactical Breakdown: How West Ham Dominated
In the first half, West Ham played with purpose and intensity, especially down the right wing, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka regularly put Leicester left-back Victor Kristiansen to the test.
A right-wing attack led by Bowen pressured Leicester into a weak clearance that was collected by Aaron Cresswell, who delivered a cross to Mohammed Kudus. Kudus’ shot was saved, but Soucek was quick to capitalize and net the goal.
Leicester’s captain, Jamie Vardy, was unable to clear a corner at the near post in the 43rd minute, which allowed Bowen to seize the ball and create a chance to shoot from a narrow-angle through a crowd of defenders. Although Bowen celebrated, it was recorded as an own goal by Vestergaard.
Second-Half Resilience Fails to Spark Leicester Comeback
Although West Ham spent most of the second half defending and Leicester had a little more bite, the visitors never really looked like they were going to score. Van Nistelrooy is under increasing pressure after the Foxes have now given up 12 goals in their last four league games without scoring a goal in response.
Thank goodness they let go of that in the second half and began to take the initiative in their pursuit of victory, Van Nistelrooy stated. But the damage was already done.
When asked if he would remain in charge of the team’s upcoming match against Chelsea on March 9, the Dutchman responded, “I keep working, I keep going.”
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