WHZ View: Three things learned as West Ham beat Leicester City
West Ham won 3-2 in the Premier League for the second time in six days with a spirited display over Leicester City at the London Stadium.
Jesse Lingard scored a brace and Jarrod Bowen got his third in three games to give us all three points on Sunday. In-form Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice for the Foxes but it wasn’t enough as they suffered back-to-back league defeats.
It’s a win that moves David Moyes’ side to within a point of third-placed Leicester. West Ham Zone have highlighted three things we learned as the Hammers continued to defy the odds.
Jarrod the juggernaut
Jarrod Bowen was outstanding again for West Ham on Sunday as he was again asked to play out of position. The Englishman scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season and picked up his fourth assist.
Having gone seven games in the top-flight without a goal or assist, the 24-year-old now has the most goal involvements at West Ham this season, with 12.
Bowen has really stepped up in the absence of Michail Antonio. His string of excellent performances are beginning to make £22million [Guardian] look a right steal.
Plan B
West Ham ended the game without the majority of their key players on the pitch. With Declan Rice, Angelo Ogbonna and Michail Antonio all absent, Aaron Cresswell and Mark Noble were both forced off in the second half through injury.
It forced David Moyes to make some changes, including bringing on 21-year-old Ben Johnson to play in the centre of midfield. It highlights the versatility of Moyes’ matchday squad. He is definitely capable of switching plans when he has to.
We’ll now be profusely sweating over the fitness of Cresswell and Noble ahead of the trip to Newcastle. There is reason to be confident with or without them, but we could do without losing more key men to injury for this one.
At the double
For the second time in six days, West Ham completed a top-flight double over a side from the Midlands and ended a long run in doing so.
This is the first time we’ve beaten Leicester City twice in the top-flight since the 1996/97 Premier League campaign. It’s not quite as long as our 99-year wait to beat Wolves twice, but another omen broken nonetheless.
Those matches were far less exciting in the 90s. West Ham won 1-0 at Upton Park and 1-0 again at Filbert Street. Both goals were scored by cult-hero John Moncur. Something tells us we’ve unearthed a few new cult heroes this season.
In other West Ham news, Jesse Lingard is attracting interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs.