West Ham United triumphed over Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium to move further away from the relegation scraps. David Moyes’ men have extended their lead over Southampton to 6 points in the relegation battle and are at a much better place going into the final two games of the season.
Arthur Masuaku managed to beat Benalouane on the flank and whipped in a perfect ball towards the far post. Mark Arnautovic calmly set up Joao Mario for a simple tap-in. 0-1 at the 34th minute.
The Hammers dominated the first half and continued on their inspired path to register their second just minutes after the hour mark. Club captain, Mark Noble silenced the crowd with a mercurial volley towards the bottom-left corner while being almost 30 yards away from goal. 0-2
The Foxes tried to mount a comeback but eventually ran out of time.
Here is how the West Ham United players were rated on the night.
Adrian – 7/10
He looked calm and composed in between the sticks other than the one shaky moment in the first half. Did not have much to do either to earn himself another clean sheet.
Declan Rice – 8/10
A champion performance from the youngster as he tidied up every scrappy ball from the West Ham backline. Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho could not trouble him enough throughout the 90 minutes.
Angelo Ogbonna – 8/10
An equally rewarding night for the Italian. His marking and the timing of his tackles were on point. Bullied Vardy into submission multiple times.
Aaron Cresswell – 6/10
Not the cleanest nights for the Englishman but overall decent. His passes were off the mark and was lucky enough to escape with just a yellow for the handball.
Pablo Zabaleta – 8/10
A usual outing from the Argentine full-back as he maintained his discipline on defence against the pacey Demarai Gray. He surged ahead when required and held onto possession really well.
Arthur Masuaku – 7/10
Very adventurous on the left and delivered some of the most appetizing balls in the West Ham box. Was not exactly needed on defence.
Cheikhou Kouyate – 7/10
Defensively astute and a much-improved display.
Mark Noble – 9/10
Man of the match worthy performance from the midfielder. Other than the remarkable effort on goal, he was lively throughout the game and commanded the heart of the pitch.
Joao Mario – 8/10
He drifted in and out of tight spaces to link up the Hammers attack quite well.
Manuel Lanzini – 8/10
The entire Leicester defence was dancing to his spells throughout the game. Very hard to knock off the ball and incredibly clever without it.
Marko Arnautovic – 7/10
Sublime assist for the Austrian but was otherwise pretty quiet tonight. Expected when the rest of his teammates are picking up the slack.
Substitutes:
Andy Carroll – 6/10
Won his team a free kick within just seconds of coming on the pitch. Tracked back and helped out on defence as well.
Edimilson Fernandes – NA
Patrice Evra – NA
