Leicester City vs West Ham United. Premier League.
The King Power StadiumAttendance32,013.
Sunday 6 May 2018 00:09, UK
West Ham secured their Premier League safety with a 2-0 win against Leicester, whose winless run under Claude Puel continued on Saturday.
The Hammers were deserving of their win at the King Power Stadium as Joao Mario opened the scoring in the 34th minute before Mark Noble (64) produced a superb volley to seal a vital three points.
Leicester - the day after Puel was given backing by the club's chairman - offered little in terms of a reply and did not have a shot on target until the 86th minute.
The Foxes remain in ninth place but are now winless in five Premier League games, while West Ham have moved five points clear of the relegation places with two games left to play. With 17th-placed Southampton to play Swansea in 18th on Tuesday, victory for the Hammers means they will remain a top-flight club next season.
West Ham began the game well, but could not really test Leicester goalkeeper Ben Hamer until the half an hour mark, with Manuel Laznini sliding Marko Arnautovic through in the area but his shot was well blocked by the legs of the stopper.
Two minutes later, Arnautovic should have opened the scoring but his brilliantly curled effort could only ping against the upright and go wide, with Hamer well beaten in goal.
West Ham found the breakthrough in the 34th minute as Arthur Masuaku delivered a superb cross into the area that met Arnautovic, who took two flicked touches before sliding the ball back for the waiting Joao Mario. The Portuguese then swept home past Hamer.
Leicester improved at the start of the second half but struggled to find their rhythm up front with the Hammers doubling their lead in the 64th minute. It was a wonderful strike from Noble as he collected a headed clearance from Aleksandar Dragovic before powering a volley through the area and into the net off the post.
The Foxes had their first shot on target in the 86th minute, although it was a tame effort from Adrien Silva that went straight into the hands of Adrian, but the goalkeeper was more sternly tested not long after. He palmed away a near-post header from Yohan Benalouane before denying the defender again as he tried to head home from a corner.
Claude Puel: "I think it is normal [the fan reaction of boss at full-time] because it is a tough period with some negativity and blame. I would like to apologise for the last performance because it is not enough and we have to finish strongly in the last two games."
David Moyes: "Winning always feels good and we've needed to win a couple of games so the boys did a really good job today getting that result. We've just played Chelsea, Arsenal and Man City in a row which is never easy and we conceded some goals so to get a clean sheet and three points today is really good."
By the 78th minute, Arnautovic looked tired and for good reason. The striker ran himself ragged, especially in the first half, and was heavily involved in much of the positive attacking play from West Ham.
While he may not have got on the scoresheet himself, he did set up Joao Mario for his opener and has now been involved in nine goals in his last eight Premier League away games.
Leicester will play their final home game of the season against Arsenal on Wednesday, while West Ham finish their season with two home fixtures, starting with the visit of Manchester United on Thursday.
