Leicester City 0-3 West Ham United: Player Ratings as the Hammers End Foxes' Perfect Premier League

Leicester City had their perfect start to the Premier League season brought to an abrupt halt by an impressive West Ham United.

Michail Antonio opened the scoring with a perfectly-placed header inside the opening 15 minutes. Pablo Fornals doubled West Ham's lead 20 minutes later to end Antonio's streak of netting the club's last seven Premier League goals away from home.

Fornals then turned provider, taking advantage of Leicester's disjointed backline as the Foxes went in search of a comeback to find Jarrod Bowen who made it 3-0 in the final ten minutes.

A late Harvey Barnes effort was ruled out for offside to deservedly preserve West Ham's clean sheet - just their fourth in the Premier League in 2020.


LEICESTER CITY

1. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Kasper Schmeichel (GK) - 5/10 - Denmark's number one was hardly at fault for any of the goals and stopped the shots he would be expected to.

Daniel Amartey (CB) - 6/10 - Forced off with injury before the hour-mark, Amartey had far fewer struggles than his fellow centre-backs.

Jonny Evans (CB) - 4/10 - Roughed up by Antonio from the first whistle until the Englishman's second-half substitution, undoubtedly the best moment of the match for a beleaguered Evans.

Caglar Söyüncü (CB) - 3/10 - Completely lost the flight of the ball for Antonio's opening goal and veered on the side of rash as he too, like so many before and inevitably after him, struggled to contain Antonio.


2. Wing Backs & Midfielders

Timothy Castagne (RWB) - 5/10 - The normally buccaneering Belgian made a number of runs forward but was rarely found.

Youri Tielemans (CM) - 4/10 - Struggled to find any openings between West Ham's organised lines of defence and midfield.

Nampalys Mendy (CM) - 4/10 - Bizarre challenge earned him a needless yellow card in the first half and the 28-year-old Frenchman continued this carelessness throughout with a number of sloppy passes.

James Justin (LWB) - 5/10 - Very limited involvement going forward, Justin was shackled well by West Ham's debutant at right wing-back.


3. Forwards

Ayoze Pérez (RW) - 4/10 - Applied plenty of pressure early on but faded as the game went on. Moved more centrally when Leicester changed formation in second half but struggled to influence proceedings.

Jamie Vardy (ST) - 5/10 - Snapped into tackles with his usual vigour but was provided with surprisingly limited and poor service. The one time Vardy did get in behind late in the game, he missed the target.

Harvey Barnes (LW) - 5/10 - In the week of his first senior England call-up, Barnes couldn't inspire Leicester to three points. Despite taking up dangerous positions, Barnes didn't pose anywhere near enough problems for West Ham's defence and had his late goal correctly ruled out for offside.


4. Substitutes

Cengiz Ünder (RW) - 6/10

Kelechi Iheanacho (AM) - 6/10

Hamza Choudhury (CM) - N/A


WEST HAM UNITED

5. Goalkeeper & Defenders

Lukasz Fabianski (GK) - 6/10 - Having faced no shots on target, Fabianski had little to do with his hands but looked a bit shaky with the ball at his feet.

Fabián Balbuena (CB) - 7/10 - Beaten for pace early in the second half by Barnes but the Paraguay international helped West Ham keep a high line which Leicester hardly penetrated.

Angelo Ogbonna (CB) - 8/10 - Won his first race against Vardy and kept a very close eye on the jet-heeled striker from thereon in. As the deepest of West Ham's three centre-backs, the experienced Italian marshalled his backline superbly.

Aaron Cresswell (CB) - 8/10 - Stepped out of defence to deliver a brilliant, arcing cross onto Antonio's forehead for West Ham's opener. Cresswell's second assist was slightly less aesthetic, punting the ball up field in the vague direction of Fornals. Out of possession, West Ham's number three hardly put a foot wrong.


6. Wing Backs & Midfielders

Vladimir Coufal (RWB) - 7/10 - Two days after signing from Slavia Prague, Coufal turned out a very solid debut, diligently tracking his opposite number while also getting forward when the opportunity presented itself.

Tomas Soucek (CM) - 6/10 - Neat and tidy in possession but didn't provide anywhere near his normal threat running into the box.

Declan Rice (CM) - 7/10 - Competed well against Leicester's midfield duo, and almost capped his performance with a goal after charging, from inside his own half, through the centre of the park only to be denied by the crossbar.

Arthur Masuaku (LWB) - 7/10 - Embarked upon relatively few forays forward, instead providing ample cover for Cresswell, perhaps with Castagne's threat going forward in mind.


7. Forwards

Jarrod Bowen (RW) - 7/10 - Tracked back diligently, rapidly dropping onto the right-hand side of midfield as West Ham defended in a compact 5-4-1. Punished the chasms in Leicester's defence to net West Ham's third goal.

Michail Antonio (ST) - 9/10 - The term 'lost cause' must not be a part of Antonio's vocabulary. Started the move which led to his opening goal with a quick free-kick he earned out of nothing. Whether he was dropping off, running in behind, or bullying Leicester's back-three, Antonio proved to be a deadly nuisance throughout.

Pablo Fornals (LW) - 8/10 - Produced a fantastic first touch to quell Cresswell's assist/clearance before finishing coolly past Schmeichel for West Ham's second. The 24-year-old Spaniard displayed similar composure to thread a pass through for Bowen to score the game's third goal.


8. Substitutes

Sebastien Haller (ST) - N/A

Mark Noble (CM) - N/A


Source : 90min