First-half goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez helped Leicester City to a 2-1 win away to West Ham United this afternoon.
The Foxes dominated the first half and deservedly took a two-goal lead into the break, Dimitri Payet reduced the arrears on 55 minutes.
Initially, an equaliser looked imminent as the Hammers poured forward from then on, but the visitors expertly took the sting out of the clash.
Adrian was dismissed in the closing moments in what seemed particularly harsh, but Leicester held on.
Below, relive the drama with our live commentary.
Well, that was eventful. Payet's goal on 55 minutes was NOT the foundations of a comeback as Leicester hold on to win. Goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez did the damage in the first half. Adrian was sent off late on in what was a terrible decision by referee Anthony Taylor, who had a shocking performance. Anywho, we're done here. That's all! Cheers for joining our commentary and we'll see you next time.
FULL TIME: West Ham 1-2 Leicester
RED CARD FOR ADRIAN!
Oh god lord. Anthony Taylor will need a police escort to get out of here. He's been shocking. Adrian comes up for a corner, before fouling Vardy I think it was with a high boot. His eyes were on the ball, but Taylor brandishes the red card and nobody can quite believe it.
RED CARD FOR ADRIAN!
THREE MINUTES ADDED ON: That's a shocking decision. Leicester have spent most of the half time wasting!
Huge defensive header from Robert Huth here as he clears Payet's teasing ball. Sakho was just waiting to tap home! Excellent from the German.
This isn't looking good for West Ham. We're into the last six minutes and they seem to be running out of ideas.
SAVE! Schmeichel didn't know much about this, but he saves from Sakho's point-blank effort to preserve Leicester's lead. What a huge moment that could be.
West Ham are getting irritated now. Jenkinson fouls Mahrez deep in Leicester's half. They're killing this game expertly it has to be said. Not pretty, but you can't argue the effectiveness of Leicester's anti-football.
CHANCE! Oh no it could, and should, be game over. Danny Drinkwater runs on to Vardy's excellent ball but, with just Adrian to beat, the midfielder blazed well over the bar. Shocking finish it has to be said.
SHOT! This would've been game set & match, but it's a poor free kick from Mahrez as he curls over the bar.
The tempo has been killed completely. Leicester have taken the sting out of it. That's Ranieri's doing, isn't it. The wily old Italian knows what to do in these positions.
Leicester stem the tide of West Ham pressure now, but surely it won't be for long? There's another goal in this for West Ham. Once they get that, you wouldn't back against them going on to win it. But first things first: we need an equaliser.
Eat your heart out Maradona, as Mauro Zarate dances around a host of challenges, before Leicester stops him in his tracks.
SAVE! Sakho should've done better here as his free header flies straight into the arms of Schmeichel. Should be 2-2 folks. Anywho, it's all West Ham now.
Really good atmosphere now as West Ham fans urge their team on. I can see them getting an equaliser shortly. It's got that feel.
Game on at Upton Park, and it's a wonderful finish from Dimitri Payet. His first-time effort from Noble's low cross is initially blocked, but Sakho returns the ball and Payet makes no mistake this time, finding the top corner to leave Schmeichel helpless. Fine strike.
GOAL! West Ham 1-2 (Dimitri Payet)
Sakho is down inside the box once again, this time under a challenge from Wes Morgan, but Taylor waves away again. He might need a police escort to leave Upton Park this evening.
Really good defending from Ogbonna here as he protects the ball from the tenacious Vardy, before returning the ball to Adrian who hoofs away.
WEST HAM SUB: Just one sub as 16-year-old Reece Oxford is replaced by Pedro Obiang for his debut.
RESTART! And we're back underway in East London. West Ham, trailing 2-0, will have a bee in their bonnet of that penalty appeal late on in the first half, but they must put it to one side and focus on getting back into the match. As it stands, it seems a big ask.
Anywho, goals from Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez have given Leicester a comfortable 2-0 half-time lead. They've been the better side. West Ham's win over Arsenal looks more like a fluke more than anything at this moment in time. They've been woeful.
HALF TIME: West Ham 0-2 Leicester
Hugely controversial end to that half. West Ham wanted a penalty in the dying seconds of injury time after Diafra Sakho knocked it around Schmeichel before being taken out by the Dane! It was a penalty. Stonewall. Whether or not it was a red card remains to be seen, seen as Schmeichel wasn't the last man, but it was a penalty all day long.
HALF TIME: West Ham 0-2 Leicester
SHOT! Kouyate's towering header flies over the bar. It's been so poor from West Ham in this half.
BOOKING: Carl Jenkinson goes into the book for a high challenge on Okazaki, who has been brilliant. He's been the man of this first-half.
This is a really good goal. Vardy's flick-on is met by Okazaki down the left-hand flank, and he plays in Albrighton, who beats Reid for pace before pulling back for Mahrez, who thumps into the roof of the net with a fine finish. It's a big ask for West Ham now.
GOAL! West Ham 0-2 Leicester (Riyad Mahrez)
I'll come out and say it: West Ham have been really disappointing in this half. They've done nothing. Leicester haven't done a whole lot either, but they've been clinical when they needed to be.
It's still all Leicester it has to be said. West Ham haven't settled at all. They've got plenty of talent, but they're yet to utilise it in this game.
Now we'll see what the Hammers are made of. It's their first time being behind this season and we'll see how they adapt to it. It's delicately poised now this.
Now then. Leicester move 1-0 ahead, and it's very much against the play. Okazaki volleys Vardy's brilliant cross straight at Adrian, who can't handle it, and the Japan international heads home the rebound.
GOAL! West Ham 0-1 Leicester City (Shinji Okazaki)
Promising counter-attack by Leicester comes to nothing. De Laet dispossesses Payet on the edge of West Ham's box, before galloping forward and playing in Drinkwater, who spreads it wide to Vardy but, with nobody in the area, the England striker crosses into the box and everything breaks down.
SHOT! Payet spreads the ball wide to Carl Jenkinson, who drops the shoulder to make a yard of space from Schlupp before firing into Row-Z - and probably out of the stadium. If anyone's near Upton Park there's probably a official Premier League ball resting upside a nearby curb.
Jamie Vardy shows Kouyate a clean pair of heels, and then Jenkinson, but he then runs the ball out of play, much to the amusement of the West Ham fans. That's arguably the best bit of entertainment we've seen so far.
We said this would be a decent game, but it's yet to prove much unfortunately. It's a really slow start, with neither side doing a whole lot in the final third as of yet. Sakho has just done a Di Canio-esque karate kick, but that effort was a) over the bar and b) offside.
We've seen our first sight of Payet, who dinks a wonderful over-the-top ball for Sakho to run on to, but the Senegalese is marginally offside.
BOOKING: Jamie Vardy has had an eventful week, and it may get worse this afternoon because he's only gone and got himself booked inside 11 minutes for a foul on goalkeeper Adrian. It was harsh on him to be fair. It was a 50-50!
CORNER: Good defending from De Laet, who ushers Zarate out of play to win a corner, which comes to nothing. It was a really poor delivery from Payet actually.
Shinji Okazaki runs on to Drinkwater's ball now as he finds himself in a really promising position, but the Japan international opted to backheel it to Cresswell rather than playing it across the face of goal for Vardy. Disappointing that, but better from Leicester.
It's all West Ham in these early minutes but they're yet to do much. Payet fizzed a free kick into the area a few minutes ago but it ultimately went out for a goal kick.
KICKOFF: And we're off at Upton Park, my friends. West Ham, playing from right to left, get us underway. It'll be a good game this.
KICKOFF: And we're off at Upton Park, my friends. West Ham, playing from right to left, get us underway. It'll be a good game this.
Right, we're five minutes from kickoff. Don't sneak off anywhere now. I'm looking at you...
Incidentally, Everton have only gone and beat Southampton 3-0 at St Marys. What a result that was for the Toffees. Here's our report on that one.
Here's Bubbles the Bear, Hammerhead and some fella in a robot costume. Ten minutes to go.
PIC: Bubbles and Hammerhead are here to meet fans as they arrive at the Boleyn Ground! #WHULEI #COYI #WHUFC pic.twitter.com/gzFUhva4Nk
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) August 15, 2015
Meanwhile, Rizky is yet to get the hang of this prediction lark it seems. Bless. We'll save his prediction for October 17 when Southampton host Leicester.
Prediction today's: Southampton 1-0 Leicester City
— Rizky ☆ (@Boriel_ID) August 15, 2015
Not content with simply predicting the scoreline, Cameron Smith has only gone and predicted the goalscorers too - and what order they'll come in. Best of luck to him.
Score Prediction:
WHU 3-1 Leicester
Sakho
Payet
Noble
Vardy
#WHULEI
— Cameron Smith (@Cameron_SmithUK) August 15, 2015
Looks like the drinks are on Matt Davies if West Ham win 3-0.....
Today's prediction West Ham 3-0 Leicester
20/1
— Matt Davies (@mattdavieswhufc) August 15, 2015
Let's go out and about and see if we can't pull up a few more predictions on this one.
PREDICTION! Right, we're approximately 22 minutes from kickoff in East London. How about a prediction? Go on then. We reckon that Bilic's boys will move to six points with another impressive performance under the Croat this Saturday. They may concede, or even fall behind, but they proved on Sunday that they have more than enough by way of flair to cause serious problems for better defences than what Leicester boast. 2-1 West Ham.
Where are you going Leicester fans? Have no fear, because your side has won 25 points since the start of April, which is four more than any other Premier League side. Your boys are bang in form so, despite the above stats being a little ominous, there's still reason for optimism.
DID YOU KNOW? If that wasn't enough to whet the appetite then let's chew on a few stats, shall we? Did you know Leicester lost all SIX of their visits to London last term? That's rather ominous. Furthermore, West Ham have won SEVEN of their last eight top-flight home games with the Foxes. That's also rather ominous, isn't it.
To get us in the mood, shall we have a sing-song? Why not, and what better song to whet the appetite than use the same tune Ranieri used to inspire Leicester against Sunderland. The 63-year-old somehow knows who Kasabian are and used their hit 'Fire' to motivate his Leicester "warriors". Will it work for us? It did for me. I'm too fired up if anything. Serenade yourself with this while I do 300 alternating bicep curls and rob a bank.
On to Leicester now and Mr Ranieri names an unchanged first XI from their win over Sunderland. The Italian sticks to a winning formula as Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez look to find the net for the second successive game. I fancy Mahrez to have a fine season. He showed glimpes of his promise last term, but this time around he'll really kick on. Probably. Maybe.
In the words of an interrogator at Guantanamo, let's start with the Hammers and I can tell you that Bilic makes just the one change from that win at Arsenal, with Carl Jenkinson - who was suspended to face his parent club - returning at right-back to replace James Tomkins. Oxford retains his place in midfield, while Payet continues supporting the likes of Zarate and Diafra Sakho.
LEICESTER SUBS: Hammond, Kante, Kramaric, Ulloa, Fuchs, Benalouane, Maddison
WEST HAM SUBS: Randolph, Nolan, Tomkins, Jarvis, Obiang, Maiga, Lanzini
LEICESTER XI: Schmeichel, de Laet, Drinkwater, Morgan, Huth, Vardy, King, Albrighton, Schlupp, Okazaki, Mahrez
WEST HAM XI: Adrian, Jenkinson, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Oxford, Kouyate, Noble, Payet, Sakho, Zarate
Shall we have a quick look at some team news? Why not, but first why not check out what the boys down at Sports Mole HQ have had to say on this one. Go on sure....
Ranieri - the self-styled Tinkerman, which means something completely different in Ireland, by the way. Think Brad Pitt in Snatch. Anywho, the Italian looks like he might be the man to safeguard City's Premier League future. Early days, sure, but if first impressions are anything to go by then they'll be alright. Big test today though.
What about Leicester? Well, Claudio Ranieri's side secured a 4-2 win over Sunderland last week, after going three up before the break, to kick-start their campaign in style. It was just what the doctor ordered after a summer of, well, turmoil. Manager Nigel Pearson was sacked after his son's contract was terminated. The less said about that the better, I think.
It was also a performance that gave birth to potential Premier League stars: Dimitri Payet looked a steal at £10m. Angelo Ogbonna was so solid that he's been invited to join a London-based grime and garage band. And youngster Reece Oxford turned in a mature midfield display that bellied his 16 years. Things are really looking up for West Ham, and manager Slaven Bilic must be delighted.
We can't go much further without explaining who Goliath is in the exaggerated analogy above: why it's only Arsenal. Indeed, the Hammers only went and turned over Arsene Wenger's side at the Emirates with a 2-0 win, courtesy of goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate. See it coming? Few did, and the Irons could hardly come into this one on more of a high - unless they spent the morning with Jack Grealish and Raheem Sterling.
Six days after slaying Goliath, David - or West Ham, in this analogy - is back to facing men of similar structure as Leicester City come to town. Excited? You should be because this afternoon's clash at Upton Park promises to throw up something special. Or it could be 0-0. Who knows. What we do know is that it kicks off at 3pm, giving us an hour to whet the appetite. Let's go.
Written by
Shane Callaghan
Shane Callaghan
