Hammers keep knocking
In-form Lingard's brace puts side back in top 4 but Foxes lose scent
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Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard reeling away after giving West Ham the lead against Leicester at the London Stadium. While Leicester came back from three down to score twice, the hosts hung on to stay in the top-four fight and the forgotten Red Devil stays on course to be the season's comeback story.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON • Last season, Leicester fell apart in the final third of the campaign, missing out on a top-four place and Champions League football by four points.
It was a bitter blow for the Foxes, who have not qualified for Europe's elite football competition since their miraculous 2015-16 title triumph, but manager Brendan Rodgers insisted his "mentally tougher" side would be all the better going into this term.
However, fears of a similar collapse at the business end of the season are growing after Leicester slumped to a 3-2 loss at top-four rivals West Ham yesterday.
Jesse Lingard, who has been in scintillating form since arriving on loan from Manchester United in late January, took his tally for the Hammers to eight goals with two strikes before half-time.
Jarrod Bowen made it 3-0 shortly after the interval, although Leicester finally came to life with Kelechi Iheanacho punishing a defensive mistake with 20 minutes left.
West Ham had to endure a nerve-wracking six minutes of added time with the Nigeria striker scoring another goal during that period, but David Moyes' side managed to hang on to give their bid to make the top four for the first time a massive shot in the arm.
Rodgers' side are still third but just one point separates them from the Hammers (55), who displaced Chelsea, a further point back, to vault into fourth spot.
While Leicester are in danger of choking following their second successive league loss, these are heady times for West Ham.
Not only did Moyes' men finish fifth from bottom last season with 39 points, but also last made it to the Europa League in 2014-15 via the Premier League Fair Play table.
Some critics had tagged West Ham as relegation candidates before the start of the season and no one had pegged them as a viable threat to the established "Big Six", let alone Champions League contenders.
Nobody had predicted the impact of Lingard, who is turning into arguably the comeback story of the term.
8
Goals in nine games for West Ham's on-loan midfielder Jesse Lingard.
Considered a joke by fans across the league and even at Old Trafford, the much-maligned forward was frozen out by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and did not play a single minute in the league before linking up with Moyes.
Yet in his nine league games with West Ham, Lingard (eight) has now equalled his best scoring return in a top-flight campaign.
He even earned an England recall last month and the forward is delighted to have the chance to possibly make history.
The United loanee said: "It is great. We are in something to fight for. Games are like Cup finals. We grind out the wins and take the points home. The lads battle on. There is a big belief in the team.
"We take each game as it comes, step-by-step for top four. It would be a brilliant achievement. First time in West Ham's history in the Champions League."
In the earlier game, Newcastle took a big step towards securing their top-flight survival with a vital 2-1 win at fellow strugglers Burnley, coming from behind at Turf Moor to end their seven-game winless run. The fourth-bottom Magpies are now six points clear of the relegation zone and hold a game in hand on 18th-placed Fulham (26).
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
