West Ham United 1-2 Leicester City
As West Ham and Leicester played their final Premier League match of the decade, this was a day in which one of the greats of football in the 20th century was remembered.
West Ham United paid a wonderful tribute to the late Martin Peters, who died aged 76 last week.
Former Hammers team-mates Sir Geoff Hurst – with whom Peters starred in England’s 1966 World Cup victory – and Brian Dear recalled their own personal memories of Peters, while a video montage of the visionary player’s finest moments was also played on big screens at London Stadium.
A floral shirt tribute was then carried out to the centre circle spot before rapturous applause in celebration of the achievements of one of West Ham and England’s finest-ever players.
A great gone, but never to be forgotten.
Highlights of the game
Then it was time for two much-changed sides to produce Premier League 2019 highlights of their own. Sadly for the home side, they were few and far between.
It certainly didn’t take long before we had the first turning point.
The returning goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski fouled Kelechi Ihenacho and, while it was accidental, there was no question it was a penalty kick. But the Polish shot-stopper made amends, saving well from a tame Demarai Gray spot-kick.
The early pace of the Foxes’ play soon disappeared, but the hosts were clearly lacking in conviction and confidence after recent results.
Just as it seemed we were heading for a goalless first half, two goals came in the final five minutes.
First, youngster James Justin kept the ball in play, Ayoze Perez nodded it back into the danger zone and Iheanacho headed home from close range.
Then, West Ham suddenly turned up and were level on the stroke of half-time as Ryan Fredericks played in Felipe Anderson, who squared the ball to the unmarked Pablo Fornals and he made no mistake.
It was a sign of what they can deliver and have for much of Manuel Pellegrini’s reign, which makes it even more surprising why their form has dipped so badly in recent months.
They were behind again 11 minutes after the restart as Gray made amends for his earlier spot-kick, clipping in after good work and direct running from Perez.
And that was that as West Ham rarely looked like gaining an equaliser for the remainder of the half as the Hammers lost four Premier League home fixtures in a row for the first time since January 2006.
Boos from the Hammers fans greeted the final whistle and if there were SBOBET Premier League 2019 betting odds on who would be the next top-flight manager to be sacked, Pellegrini would be odds-on.
Yet many of his players are letting him down right now and the Chilean deserves better. Whether he gets much longer remains to be seen.
Credit to Leicester. They deserved this win, and after a bad week, they are up and running again and stay second.
Key statistics
Gray is the third different Leicester player to miss a penalty and score in the same Premier League game after Jamie Vardy and Graham Fenton.
Leicester have now missed their last two Premier League penalties that were not taken by Vardy. James Maddison missed against Cardiff City on December 29, 2018.
Fornals is the 151st different Premier League goalscorer for West Ham, two more than any other side.
Iheanacho has been directly involved in five goals in his last four Premier League appearances for Leicester (three goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 31 for the club.
West Ham have won just one of the past 10 Premier League meetings (drawn four, lost six) and are only a solitary point clear of the drop zone.
Leicester are unbeaten in five Premier League away games against West Ham, having lost seven of their previous eight in the top flight.
Leicester conceded seven goals in the back-to-back defeats by Manchester City and Liverpool, one more than they had in their previous 11 league matches.
The Foxes have now gone four Premier League matches unbeaten in London for the first time.
What’s next?
West Ham are home again in four days time as they host Bournemouth on New Year’s Day before travelling to Gillingham in the third round of the FA Cup. A defeat there would surely spell the end for the current management team (if they are still in charge).
Leicester bring in the new year at Newcastle and then host 2013 winners Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup.
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