Ruud van Nistelrooy shrugged off any suggestion he could be sacked after Leicester slumped to another dismal defeat at West Ham.
The Foxes looked like they were waving the white flag in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League during an abject first half.
An early goal from Tomas Soucek and Jannik Vestergaard’s own goal before half-time ultimately gave West Ham a 2-0 victory that was far more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
Leicester failed to score for the fourth consecutive match, meanwhile West Ham registered their second win in a week…
Recap events from the London Stadium ⤵️
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 27, 2025
Van Nistelrooy’s hapless side have now lost 11 of their last 12 matches, the last four by an aggregate score of 12-0.
But, when asked if he expected to still be in charge for their next match, at Chelsea a week on Sunday, the Dutchman snapped: “What do you want me to say? I keep working. I keep going.”
Leicester could have been just two points from safety with a win, but never looked remotely like taking advantage of all the other protagonists in the relegation scrap losing this week.
West Ham opened the scoring after 20 minutes with their first attack of the match, when Aaron Cresswell found himself on the edge of Leicester’s penalty area.
Vestergaard could have easily got a block on Cresswell’s hopeful shot from 20 yards but instead he waved it through and Mohammed Kudus prodded the ball goalwards. Although Mads Hermansen made an instinctive save, Leicester’s defenders stood and watched as Soucek accepted a gift of a goal on his 30th birthday by tucking in the rebound.
The defending for the second was even worse as Leicester failed to clear a corner, Jarrod Bowen scurried along the byline and his shot was turned in by Vestergaard.
Leicester improved after the break, undoubtedly, but West Ham had virtually declared by the hour.
Van Nistelrooy added: “I saw two different halves. A first half where we tried not to lose, and another half where we tried to win.
“That’s the situation we’re in, the confidence in the run of form is low and then you end up in a mindset of trying not to lose.
“Thank God in the second half they shrugged that off and tried to win but the damage was already done.
“They are giving me everything. The confidence, and the lack of it, showed.
“We know the situation, we know the table, we know how quick football can turn around.”
West Ham, who shocked Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday, made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since March, signs that new boss Graham Potter is starting to make his mark.
“Really pleased for the players,” said Potter. “They’ve been working hard, so it’s nice to get the reward of the points.
“The clean sheet was important as well. It’s something we’ve tried to improve. It wasn’t champagne football. But, overall, delighted for the players.”
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. 23 years ago, Ronaldinho fooled everyone with 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 free-kick against England and a star was born If Nico Williams moves to BarcaTrent Pep Guardiola knows how to TURN ON the Cyborg! AN INSPIRATION TO THE WORLD! Fabrizio Romano shares his new Lamine Yamal bed on Facebook.This is so funny Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credi...
Andre Onana is keen to stay at Manchester United despite interest from Monaco, sources have told ESPN.The French side asked for information from Onana's representatives about his potential availability this summer.Monaco also showed interest in former United goalkeeper David De Gea before he extended his contract with Fiorentina.Onana, however, is determined to stay at Old Trafford unless he is to...
Liverpool could still enter the market in one of their biggest-spending windows.Liverpool are reportedly set to launch crunch talks with Crystal Palace over England defender Marc Guehi. The Reds are long-term admirers of the 25-year-old and could make him their latest big-money signing.Palace are said to value Guehi at around £70million despite only one year remaining on the former Chelsea st...
Liverpool confirmed the signing of Germany international Florian Wirtz on Friday evening.Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the signing of Florian WirtzJurgen Klopp has expressed his admiration for Liverpool's acquisition of German international Florian Wirtz. The former Reds manager, who departed in 2024 and now serves as Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer, maintains close ties ...
Chelsea no longer interested in MaignanPer Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are no longer interested in AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan. They have not reactivated talks with the player and reportedly do not intend to do it later in the transfer window as they have confidence in their current crop of custodians at Stamford Bridge.Van Nistelrooy set to be sacked by Leicester after relegationLeicester City ...
Juventus, Napoli in contact with Chelsea striker JacksonSerie A clubs are interested in Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson.Jackson's future at Chelsea is in doubt after he suffered another red card in yesterday's Club World Cup defeat to Flamengo.Sky Italia's0Gianluca Di Marzio reports that Juventus and Napoli are interested in Jackson.Juventus have0 already made contact with the player's management ...
Bayern Munich rival Chelsea for Borussia Dortmund winger GittensBayern Munich are interested in Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens.Gittens saw a move to Chelsea fall through last week after Dortmund rejected their 342m offer on Tuesday's Club World Cup transfer deadline.Kicker reports that Bayern are planning a move to sign Gittens during this window.Bayern sporting director Max Eberl has left...
Frimpong reacts as Wirtz joins Liverpool in 3116m moveJeremie Frimpong has responded to Florian Wirtz’s move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool, following in his footsteps.Just weeks after the Dutchman made the switch from the Bundesliga side to the Reds, Wirtz followed in a blockbuster 3116 million ($156m) move.0Shortly after the transfer was confirmed, Frimpong responded with the eyes emoj...
Rashford keen on joining Yamal’s BarcelonaManchester United star Marcus Rashford has expressed a desire to play alongside Lamine Yamal, seemingly sending a message to Barcelona to make a move.The England international has reportedly had his sights set on a Blaugrana transfer for a while. Now, the former Aston Villa loanee has arguably dropped a not-so-subtle hint that he’s eager to joi...
Quilindschy Hartman will join Burnley as soon as next weekFeyenoord have reportedly accepted a bid from Burnley for left-back Quilindschy Hartman.As Burnley were preparing an offer for the 23-year-old Hartman, the left-back was reported to have visited Burnley's training ground and met manager Scott Parker before the weekend.According to Dutch media, Feyenoord have accepted a €12 million bid...
- 1 Chloe Kelly enjoys sun-kissed holiday as Arsenal star rests before Euro 2025
- 2 Jack Grealish set to leave Man City this summer
- 3 Man Utd have Hugo Ekitike 'advantage'
- 4 Transfer news & rumours LIVE
- 5 Stunning Euro U21 reporter dubbed 'queen of Europe' in bold dress
- 6 Man Utd make decision on replacing Andre Onana with Emi Martinez this summer
- 7 DONE DEAL: Celta Vigo sign permanently Ilaix from RB Leipzig
- 8 Real Madrid eye a trio of targets
- 9 Maddison and Wag announce they're expecting twins AGAIN
- 10 Seattle Sounders vs PSG Prediction 24 June 2025