City Secure Convincing West Ham Triumph
Brendan Rodgers made two changes to his starting XI, with Ben Chilwell and Youri Tielemans coming back in in place of Christian Fuchs and Dennis Praet.
At a chilly King Power Stadium, City took charge of the game from the off, with Jamie Vardy firing straight at Darren Randolph inside the first five minutes, before Ricardo Pereira fired a half-volley over the bar with 13 minutes gone.
It was Ricardo who turned provider shortly after, though, to unlock the Hammers defence. Academy graduate Harvey Barnes played a one-two with the Portuguese before converting from close range to score his third goal in four games in all competitions.
Just after the half-hour mark, midfielder Papy Mendy was forced off following an aerial challenge with West Ham striker Sébastien Haller, and it was Wilfred Ndidi who came off the bench to make his return from injury.
Frustratingly, only 10 minutes later, Vardy – the Premier League’s top scorer – also picked up an injury after making a clearance on Filbert Way, and while he initially tried to carry on, Kelechi Iheanacho replaced him moments later.
However, a first half of mixed fortunes ended on a positive note after Barnes picked out Ricardo, who arrowed a brilliant effort into the bottom corner to make it 2-0 on the stroke of half-time.
Just five minutes into the second half, West Ham pulled a goal back via the penalty spot. Haller was brought down by Ndidi in the box and after a VAR check, Hammers skipper Mark Noble successfully converted from 12 yards out.
After a spell of pressure from the Hammers, City regained their foothold in the game and twice went close to extending their lead. Ayoze Pérez first saw a strike saved by Randolph before Barnes’ effort deflected wide with 17 minutes to go.
A superb stop from Randolph followed just two minutes later, as Barnes and James Maddison combined before the latter curled a strike goal-bound that the West Ham stopper was equal to.
City finally had their third goal of the game with seven minutes of normal time remaining. Substitute Iheanacho was hauled down in the area by Angelo Ogbonna and up stepped Pérez, who smashed the ball past Randolph for 3-1.
There was time for a fourth strike of the evening, too, as Iheanacho trapped the ball in the area before finding Pérez, who netted his second of the game to round off the scoring at King Power Stadium.
Major moment
Having surrendered a one-goal lead at Turf Moor just three days earlier, Leicester City knew adding to Harvey Barnes’ opening strike would be crucial if they were to beat the Hammers.
It was Portugal international defender Ricardo Pereira who doubled the Leicester advantage with a beautiful effort from the edge of the box.
West Ham halved the deficit early on in the second period, but a double from Ayoze Pérez meant City recorded their first triumph in three Premier League outings.
Who impressed?
Matt Elliott told LCFC Radio: “There were performances all over the pitch tonight. The players that stand out for me straight away are Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira.
"I'd love to give it to Harvey because I think that was his best performance up until he was substituted and he caused havoc down the left flank in the first half.
"He scored one and assisted one, as did Ricardo for Harvey, but for me, the Portuguese right-back has to get my Man of the Match."
Where do we stand?
The Foxes, occupying third position in the Premier League, move eight points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea and now sit three points behind Manchester City after 24 games played.
Coming up…
Up next for Leicester is an Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round tie with Brentford at Griffin Park on Saturday (12:45pm kick-off), before they head to Villa Park on Tuesday to take on Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup Semi-Final second leg (7:45pm kick-off).
All times GMT.