Lingard shines as sluggish Foxes are left wobbling again
GARETH SOUTHGATE arrived at the London Stadium yesterday expecting to watch a thrilling contest between Jesse Lingard and James Maddison – two creative midfielders who have hopes of making his England squad – and a tight match between two teams with ambitions to qualify for the Champions League.
For most of the afternoon, he got neither. The battle between Lingard and Maddison never materialised, thanks to the Leicester City midfielder’s decision to breach Covid-19 regulations, and in his absence Leicester were largely unable to get close to a West Ham side who continue to punch so far above their weight.
Only in the final few minutes, when Kelechi Iheanacho created a sudden nervousness within the London Stadium by scoring two late goals, did Leicester look anything like Champions League contenders. They turned up too late, waiting too long to put West Ham under any sort of pressure, and ultimately paid the price for their sluggishness.
What must Maddison have been thinking, watching from the naughty step at home as Lingard tore into Leicester’s defence with devastating savagery?
If the Leicester midfielder’s hopes of going to the European Championship were already slim, they must be almost non-existent now.
Untouchable
He certainly will not be picked ahead of Lingard. That much seems clear enough. West Ham’s creative leader is untouchable at the minute, and once again it was he who made the difference for his new team.
David Moyes, the West Ham manager, has made so many terrific decisions this season, but signing Lingard on loan must surely be the best. “I didn’t know Messi was born in Warrington,” tweeted Arthur Masuaku, Lingard’s team-mate.
Lingard’s two goals, and a third from Jarrod Bowen, moved West Ham back into the top four and put them just one point behind thirdplaced Leicester.
Brendan Rodgers was unable to stop a late-season collapse last year, when Leicester fell out of the top four, and there must be growing fears that history will repeat itself.
Without the axed trio of Maddison, Ayoze Perez and Hamza Choudhury, who broke Covid regulations by attending a party last week, the visitors lacked spark.
They desperately missed Maddison’s range of passing, although this was far from being their only problem against a typically incisive West Ham, who keep winning despite injuries to Declan Rice and Michail Antonio.
“There is a real belief that we can go and win games,” Moyes said. “And we have got players who can do that. Jesse has been crucial. I didn’t expect him to get quite so many goals – long may it continue.”
The home side were solid at the back and creative in attack, and it took until the final 20 minutes for Leicester to make their presence felt. The last few moments were chaotic but West Ham held on to ensure this was another day for them, and indeed for Lingard.
The 28-year-old’s resurgence has been one of the stories of the season and there is an increasingly strong argument for him being the league’s best player since his move to London. In nine matches, he has scored eight goals and made three assists.
Whatever he tries seems to work. Even when he does not connect with a shot as he intended, miscuing it from the edge of the box, it still swirls into the net. That was how he scored the opener here, after being picked out by Vladimir Coufal. “It’s confidence and instinct,” Lingard said. “The lads battle on. There is a big belief in the team.”
West Ham’s fast-attacking approach has suited Lingard wonderfully. He looks much more comfortable in this set-up than in the more patient system required at Manchester United, his parent club, and it was not long before he scored his second. To the dismay of Rodgers, the visiting defence was undone by a simple pass over the top.
Bowen was too quick, running in behind, and his squared pass allowed Lingard to roll the ball into the empty net. “We were nowhere near our level,” said the Leicester manager.
For the visitors, only Youri Tielemans looked capable of competing with the West Ham midfield, where Mark Noble made his 400th Premier League appearance.
Noble held his position as the rampaging Tomas Soucek charged forward, and it was from one of these runs that Soucek created the third. His pass allowed Bowen to rifle home a powerful close-range finish.
Leicester eventually woke up, with Iheanacho firing in from the edge of the box and then converting Marc Albrighton’s cross, but by then there was too much to do. West Ham, and Lingard in particular, had already done the damage and continued their improbable push for the Champions League. (© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2021)