While one manager celebrated his first game in charge, another may have endured his last. As Ruud van Nistelrooy prepared to enjoy “a small beer” after this win allowed him to luxuriate in starting his Leicester reign by moving four points clear of the relegation zone, Julen Lopetegui claimed he could not hear his own fans singing: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
West Ham dominated play but failed to make the most of their many chances. Having spent more than £100m on players in the summer, without seeing any marked improvement in the play or results, the former Wolves manager might privately be relieved to still be in post by the time his previous club visit the London Stadium on Monday.
Asked if he was confident he would be granted time, Lopetegui replied: “I am. I am ready to prepare for the next match. There are a lot of matches in front of us and I believe in my team. We have to work a lot.
“It’s not easy because I think we deserved much more. We had 21 shots on goal but we didn’t score, it’s unbelievable. It’s true the first goal was key and we have to avoid this. We are very frustrated for the fans and for the players.”
When Lopetegui was asked how he felt about the crowd’s prediction of his imminent departure, he said: “I am a coach, I am not aware of what’s happening around me. I am focused on the game. We are able to change the situation for sure. I believe in the players. Today we played a good match but we have to improve defensively.”
The West Ham fans could point to a harsh foul given against Tomas Soucek on the goalkeeper Mads Hermansen as Crysencio Summerville’s sliced effort went over the line when it was still 1-0 but, despite having four times as many touches in the opposing area at one stage, West Ham appear to be moving backwards. After reading that Sérgio Conceiçao, the former Porto manager, is said to have been sounded out about taking over, the former Spain manager could have done without going behind so soon.
Van Nistelrooy’s grand entrance presaged the best of starts for his team. Only 98 seconds had elapsed when Jamie Vardy, after striding on to Bilal El Khannouss’s neat pass inside, calmly rolled the ball past Lukasz Fabianski and into the far bottom corner.
West Ham may have won away at Newcastle last week – no mean feat – but their sequence of two wins from 11 matches has brought the spotlight flashing back Lopetegui’s way.
But to his team’s credit, after Vardy almost scored again, West Ham dominated the rest of the half. They had eight very presentable chances before the interval, with Mads Hermansen saving three times from smart efforts from Jarrod Bowen. Danny Ings also headed against the post.
West Ham must have known their luck was out when, just before Leicester went two goals ahead, Summerville sliced the ball up into the air and over the line as Hermansen, jostled gently by Soucek, fudged his punch. But Josh Smith, the referee, gave a foul.
When El Khannouss stretched out to reach Kasey McAteer’s pass in from the left and guide the ball into the bottom corner, Leicester had done enough to give Van Nistelrooy his winning start, even if Coady was required to react brilliantly to toe-end Summerville’s effort off the line after Bowen’s great pullback.
Patson Daka, slashing home from the left corner of the box, and Niclas Füllkrug, heading in at the other end after Summerville flicked on Jarrod Bowen’s corner, traded goals in stoppage time but the die had been cast.
In many ways Füllkrug and Summerville reflect West Ham’s woes. Costing more than £25m each, this was the experienced German target man’s first Premier League goal since his move from Borussia Dortmund while neither has the young pacy winger arriving from Leeds yet to cement his starting place.
Van Nistelrooy was balanced in his perspective, accepting that West Ham dominated for a long part of the game. But he was gratified by his team’s commitment. “I’m very happy,” he said. “Look at the result – it’s three points, three goals, great goals and very effective. [But] we all saw the game and can see the chances West Ham had, so that’s something we have to look at and do better next time.
“I said beforehand that togetherness, energy, spirit, fighting together are the foundation to play the rest of this Premier League campaign,” he said, “and I saw that, from every single player, every player that came on. Without that, it’s impossible to get where we want to get.”
