Ruud van Nistelrooy Kicks Off Leicester Tenure with Victory Against West Ham

Leicester, Dec 4 (NationPress) Ruud van Nistelrooy made a striking debut in his first match as Leicester City manager, guiding the Foxes to a 3-1 triumph over West Ham United at King Power Stadium.

Jamie Vardy netted the opener for Leicester in under two minutes; although it was initially flagged for offside, a subsequent VAR review confirmed the goal as legitimate, according to Premier League updates.

West Ham started to gain momentum but squandered several chances, including a shot from Danny Ings that hit the post. In the second half, a foul by Tomas Soucek on Mads Hermansen led to an equalizer being disallowed.

After assisting Vardy's goal, Bilal El Khannouss extended Leicester's advantage with a calm finish shortly after the hour mark. Substitute Patson Daka capped off the victory with a third goal in the 90th minute.

West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug, who came on as a substitute, managed to score a consolation goal during stoppage time, but they remain in 14th position on the table.

Leicester's win, their first in six matches, propels them to 15th place, four points above the relegation zone.

"Ultimately, you focus on the result and the three points, which are crucial considering our current standing. With the outcomes of other matches, we recognized this was significant for us. The result is paramount, but I also observed that West Ham was dominant. However, our resilience helped us prevail, and we were efficient in front of goal. A fantastic evening," stated Nistelrooy.

West Ham's manager Julen Lopetegui remarked, "It’s tough for the players—they deserved more, and so did the fans. The second half shifted after we conceded the second goal. When trailing, decision-making can falter.

"Until that point, I felt we had a chance to equalize, but we failed to convert our opportunities, and in the dying moments, we took risks that led to their third goal. In the end, we didn’t capitalize on the numerous chances we created."