West Ham United on Thursday eased past English Premier League strugglers Leicester City 2-0 at the London Stadium thanks to an early strike from Tomas Soucek on his 30th birthday and an own-goal just before halftime.
The visitors’ defensive frailties were exploited by the hosts as both goals resulted from failed clearances, Soucek prodding in from close range in the 21st minute and a shot from captain Jarrod Bowen deflected in by Jannik Vestergaard.
It was a second victory in a row for West Ham under manager Graham Potter after a surprise 1-0 win at Arsenal, an upturn in form after losing three and drawing one of their previous four games.
Photo: AFP
“They were two very different games,” Potter said. “We had to understand our role in the game tonight, which was to have more of the ball.”
West Ham leapfrogged Everton into 15th place, while Leicester remained firmly in the relegation zone in 19th, five points from safety.
The Foxes have now lost 11 of their past 12 league matches, mustering just two wins in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 14 league games in charge.
They face a tough finish to the season with Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest still to play.
West Ham played with intensity and intent in the first half, particularly on the right wing, where Aaron Wan-Bissaka frequently tested Leicester fullback Victor Kristiansen.
A Bowen-driven attack from the right forced a poor Leicester clearance, which was picked up by Aaron Cresswell and whipped in to Mohammed Kudus, whose saved shot was pounced on by Soucek to score.
Leicester captain Jamie Vardy then failed to clear a corner at the near post in the 43rd minute, allowing Bowen to pick up the ball and find space to shoot through a gaggle of defenders from a tight angle. It went down as a Vestergaard own-goal despite Bowen’s celebrations.
Leicester had a bit more bite in the second half and West Ham spent much of it defending, but the visitors never seriously looked like scoring.
The Foxes have now conceded 12 times in their past four league games without a goal in reply, adding to the growing pressure on Van Nistelrooy.
“Thank god in the second half they shrugged that off, and started to take the initiative to try and win, but the damage was already done,” Van Nistelrooy said.
Asked whether he would still be in charge for the next match against Chelsea on March 9, the Dutchman said: “I keep working, I keep going.”
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
In-form teenager Mirra Andreeva on Thursday crashed out of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, after going down in straight sets to fellow Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16. World No. 7 Andreeva, who already has two titles under her belt this season, lost 6-3, 6-2 against the 22nd-ranked Alexandrova in just over an hour. The 17-year-old Andreeva had defeated her elder sister Erika in the previous round on Wednesday, but Alexandrova quickly took control as she claimed her fourth win over a top-10 player this season. The 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva in February became the youngest winner of a WTA
RSS