Van Nistelrooy guides Leicester to victory over West Ham in his first Foxes match

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Ruud Van Nistelrooy led Leicester to a resounding 3-1 win against West Ham in their Premier League clash at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday.

It was the Dutch manager’s first game in charge of the club following his appointment few days ago.

Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss, and substitute Patson Daka all scored to help the Foxes to the tantalizing victory. Meanwhile, Niclas Fullkrug netted a late consolation as Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham continues to concede aplenty despite fine performances.

Club legend Vardy delivered the first goal of the encounter with a cool finish 98 seconds after kickoff. The 37-year-old veteran latched onto El Khannouss’ pass, running behind the Hammers’ defence, to open scoring.

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Vardy’s goal was his fifth of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign and the first of the Van Nistelrooy era. Back in 2015, he broke Nistelrooy’s record by scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League matches – the manager’s record stood at 10 at the time.

Despite having a multitude of chances and having more possession of the ball, West Ham somehow failed to capitalise.

Former Southampton striker Danny Ings hit the post with a header while fellow Englishman Jarrod Bowen wasted several opportunities.

According to Opta stats, There are only three occasions on record (since 2003-04) of a team having 20 shots in the first half of a Premier League match without scoring – all three have come against Leicester City – Liverpool in December 2015, Crystal Palace in April 2023, West Ham on Tuesday night.

More goals in the second period

Interestingly for the hosts, El Khannouss doubled the advantage on the hour mark following a brilliant cutback from Kasey McAteer.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi saw his close range header saved by goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski. Also, Bobby de Cordova-Reid had another late Leicester strike ruled out for offside by the VAR.

However, Daka was not to be denied later. The Zambian striker broke away before firing high into the net in the 90th minute to make it 3-0.

Fullkrug, who had replaced Mohamed Kudus in the 79th minute, scored a mere consolation for West Ham. It was the London side’s seventh loss in 14 league outings this season.

Tags: Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss, Patson Daka, Niclas Fullkrug, Julen Lopetegui, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Leicester City, West Ham, #LEIWHU, #PremierLeague, #Foxes, #Hammers, Kasey McAteer, #NewsRoundTheClock, #nrtcnewsnigeria, #nrtcnigeria, #nrtcnews, #nrtcsports.