Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy gestures on the touchline. Alamy Stock Photo

More woe for Leicester and Van Nistelrooy as they edge closer to relegation

Ireland international Evan Ferguson came on in the 73rd minute as West Ham cruised to victory.

LEICESTER SANK closer to an immediate return to the Championship after West Ham pulled clear of the bottom three with a convincing 2-0 win on Thursday.

Tomas Soucek and a Jannik Vestergaard own goal did for the Foxes before half-time as the Hammers climbed to 15th and 16 points clear of the relegation zone.

Since Leicester won the reverse fixture in Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first game in charge in early December, the Dutchman has overseen 11 defeats and one draw in 13 Premier League games.

West Ham were buoyant after their shock 1-0 victory at Arsenal on Saturday.

Graham Potter’s men were well worthy of another three points and could have ran out much more comfortable winners.

Soucek had the simple task to tap into an empty net after Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen saved Mohammed Kudus’ effort from close range on 21 minutes.

Jarrod Bowen then took advantage of slack Leicester defending from a corner just before half-time and his shot deflected off the unfortunate Vestergaard beyond Hermansen.

Evan Ferguson wasted the chance to score his first West Ham goal when his shot was blocked by Wout Faes after the break.

But the home side had already done enough to earn back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since March last year.

The defeat leaves Leicester still five points adrift of safety in 19th and showing no signs of being able to stop a slide back into the second tier.

– © AFP 2025

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