Leicester 4-1 West Ham: Report, Ratings & Reaction as Ricardo Pereira Inspires Foxes Win

Ricardo Pereira and Harvey Barnes linked up twice and Ayoze Perez scored a brace at the King Power Stadium as Leicester downed West Ham in the Premier League.

The home side made the first breakthrough on 24 minutes, which came as no surprise. Ricardo Pereira burst through the West Ham defence and fizzed the ball across the face of goal, and Barnes was waiting at the far-post to tap it in to an empty net.

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​Leicester doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time. Barnes and Pereira linked up once more, as the Englishman pulled the ball across Darren Randolph's penalty area, where the right-back found acres of space before striking the ball into the bottom-left corner.

​West Ham were offered a lifeline, albeit with the aid of VAR, as substitute Wilfried Ndidi brought down Sebastian Haller in the box shortly after the restart. Mark Noble dispatched the penalty coolly, but Leicester were just as ruthless in the aftermath.

After numerous Randolph saves, and the feeling that the Foxes could not kill the game off, Leicester were awarded a penalty of their own as Kelechi Iheanacho was bundled over by Angelo Ogbonna. Perez thundered the penalty into the top-left corner, who burst into life in the closing stages. 


Perez added to his tally shortly before full-time, as Iheanacho held the ball up well, before laying the ball off to the Spaniard to stroke into the bottom corner, and kill the game off for the Foxes.


​Leicester

Key Talking Point

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Leicester have been in poor form by their standards, winning just two of their previous five league games. However, they are still performing well above expectations, and the talent that they possess all over the pitch contribute to this.

Following their convincing victory, they are sitting a comfortable 14 points ahead of Manchester United, who reside in fifth. Brendan Rodgers will be confident that his side have all-but secured their place in the Champions League, with ​Chelsea dropping points against ​Arsenal. The Foxes must keep their composure if they want to keep their third spot, but they have done it before.


Player Ratings

Schmeichel (7); Pereira (9)Evans (7), Söyüncü (8), Chilwell (7); Mendy (6), Tielemans (8), Maddison (8); Perez (8), Barnes (8), Vardy (6)


Subs: Ndidi (5), Iheanacho (6), Morgan (6)


Ricardo Pereira

The Portuguese full-back has been nothing short of sensational for Leicester this season, and he showed his quality once again. His forward play was brilliant, as Cresswell and Masuaku could not find a solution to his blistering pace and tricky play. A goal and assist in the first half set Leicester up for a return to winning ways.

Ricardo Pereira

Not only was his attacking play a joy to behold, but his defensive display was impressive too. Although West Ham rarely threatened down his flank, he cancelled out any Hammers foray forward on his side and set Leicester away on another attack, something which the home side grew accustom to during the game.


West Ham

Key Talking Point

The Hammers have not been particularly inspiring this season, and the return of David Moyes has not proved a cornerstone. Their inability to kill a game off has haunted them for the majority of the season, as they have not scored more than once in a game since November.

Mark Noble, Ayoze Perez, James Maddison

The fact that this proved no different summed up the rut that West Ham find themselves in. Sebastian Haller's six goals top West Ham's scoring chart for the Premier League, and the next name on the list is left-back Aaron Cresswell. Moyes needs to bolster his attacking options, otherwise the drop is a real possibility for the Hammers.


Player Ratings

Randolph (6); Zabaleta (4), Diop (6), Ogbonna (6), Cresswell (5); Snodgrass (4), Rice (5), Noble (7), Masuaku (5); Lanzini (3), Haller (3)

Subs: Antonio (6), Fornals (4)


Mark Noble

The captain was the best of a bad bunch as the Hammers failed to win again. He set his side away on counter-attacks and cut up Leicester's build up play, whenever he could. Although West Ham had very little possession throughout the match, he continued to work hard off the ball, as he usually does.

Mark Noble

Noble was tasked with taking his side's penalty and finding a way back into a game which looked dead and buried at half-time. After this, his hard work was for nothing, as he seemed to fade away as he tired in the latter stages of the game.


Looking Forward

Leicester travel to Championship side Brentford in the fourth round of the FA Cup, before making the short trip to Villa Park to play in the second-leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie.

West Ham host West Brom in the FA Cup, before welcoming Liverpool to the London Stadium, as the Hammers face an impossible task.



Source : 90min