West Ham United claimed their second straight Premier League win with a 2-0 triumph over Leicester City at the London Stadium on Thursday. Birthday boy Tomas Soucek opened the scoring in the first half before an own goal from Jannik Vestergaard sealed the victory.
Match Summary
West Ham started strong and took the lead in the 21st minute. Aaron Cresswell delivered a dangerous cross, which Mohammed Kudus tried to convert. Though Leicester’s goalkeeper Mads Hermansen managed to block Kudus’ shot, the ball fell perfectly for Soucek, who calmly finished to put the Hammers ahead.
Just before half-time, West Ham doubled their lead. James Ward-Prowse’s corner caused trouble in the Leicester box, and Jarrod Bowen’s low shot deflected off Vestergaard into the net for an unfortunate own goal.
Despite their desperate need for points, Leicester failed to put up much of a fight in the second half. Their best chance came when substitute Stephy Mavididi delivered a dangerous cross, but Emerson was there to clear the threat. West Ham, meanwhile, came close to a third, but Harry Winks made a crucial block to deny Evan Ferguson.
West Ham’s Home Form
Before this game, West Ham had struggled at home, losing their last two matches at the London Stadium. Under previous manager Julen Lopetegui, they also suffered three consecutive home defeats earlier in the season. However, new boss Graham Potter seems to be turning things around. With consecutive league wins, including a hard-fought victory over Arsenal, the Hammers have climbed to 15th place in the table, level on points with Tottenham and Manchester United.
West Ham now have a break before their next match against Newcastle United on March 10. They will then face Everton and Wolves before taking on tougher opponents like Bournemouth and Liverpool in April.
Leicester’s Defensive Struggles
Leicester are in deep trouble, sitting 19th in the league and five points from safety. Their defensive problems are getting worse, as they remain the only Premier League team without an away clean sheet this season. They have now conceded 32 goals in 12 away games.
Their issues were evident again in this match, with poor defending allowing both West Ham goals. Just last week, a sloppy first half saw them concede four goals in a heavy home defeat against Brentford.
Manager Ruud van Nistelrooy has a tough task ahead, especially with a difficult run of fixtures coming up, including games against Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brighton, and Liverpool. If Leicester don’t improve quickly, they could be heading for relegation.
Post-Match Reactions
Graham Potter (West Ham manager): “Feels good. It’s not easy. The turnaround from the Arsenal game was short, but we gave two strong performances in five days. Two clean sheets, six points – delighted.”
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Leicester manager): “The goals we conceded were too easy. In the first half, we were too passive, waiting too much. The second half was better, but we need to press the opponent more and play with urgency from the start.”
West Ham’s win gives them hope of climbing further up the table, while Leicester must find a way to stop their losing streak before it’s too late.
