Leicester City held on to claim their first Premier League away win of the season and further ease their relegation worries in a stirring victory over West Ham.
The Foxes scored twice inside the first seven minutes as Riyad Mahrez’s cross evaded Hammers keeper Darren Randolph before an unmarked Robert Huth headed in Marc Albrighton’s deft chipped pass following an excellent set-piece move.
Manuel Lanzini put the hosts back in contention with a sublime free-kick on 20 minutes, only for Jamie Vardy to restore his side’s two-goal advantage before the break as he pounced on lax defending from Albrighton’s corner to strike high past Randolph.
After the interval, Andre Ayew headed in after Andy Carroll won the ball at the back post from a corner as West Ham exerted constant pressure on the visitors in a dramatic finale.
However, Kasper Schmeichel made two tremendous saves to deny Carroll from close range late on and secure a fourth straight victory for the Foxes under new manager Craig Shakespeare as they move six points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Ayew also fired wide when free on goal, ensuring Slaven Bilic’s side are now winless in five league games as their struggles in the first year at the London Stadium continue.
Leicester’s resurgence under Shakespeare following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri is no longer surprising, even if the reasons behind it remain slightly disputed, but their first half showing here was perhaps the closest they have come to last year’s thrilling title-winning performances.
Their first goal was fortuitous as Mahrez’s cross from deep missed both Shinji Okazaki’s run across the six-yard box and Randolph’s last-ditch attempted save but it rocked West Ham and the visitors capitalised ruthlessly.
Mahrez, unrecognisable from the forlorn figure of earlier this season, combined brilliantly with opposite winger Albrighton in a well-worked free-kick that saw the latter chip a reverse pass first-time over the Hammers defence for Huth to easily nod past Randolph.
After that early one-two punch, Leicester played football worthy of their status as champions, drawing the Hammers out of shape with their passing, while England striker Vardy scored only his second away league goal of the campaign.
However, the second half was more reminiscent of Leicester’s problems at the start of this year as their decision to slow the pace of the game only seemed to stifle their own creativity and invite West Ham back into the contest.
Ultimately, though, Shakespeare’s side showed enough grit in the absence of injured captain Wes Morgan at the back to double their points won on the road this season.
