First-half goals from Shinji Okazaki and Riyad Mahrez helped Leicester City to a 2-1 win away to West Ham United this afternoon.
The Foxes dominated the first half and deservedly took a two-goal lead into the break, Dimitri Payet reduced the arrears on 55 minutes.
Initially, an equaliser looked imminent as the Hammers poured forward from then on, but the visitors expertly took the sting out of the clash. Adrian then was dismissed in the closing moments in what seemed particularly harsh, but Leicester held on.
Here, Sports Mole determines the heroes from the villains at Upton Park.
© Getty Images
WEST HAM
Goal
Adrian: Luckless afternoon for Adrian, who pulled off a fine instinctive save to deny Okazaki, before the latter beat him with the rebound, and was then sent off for a foul on Vardy. (5/10)
Defence
Carl Jenkinson: Looked away in defence, but the Arsenal loanee looked a one-trick pony going forward, with Mahrez and Schlupp regularly reading his intentions. (5/10)
Winston Reid: Looked good overall, but was questionable in the build-up to Leicester's second by allowing Albrighton to ghost past him en route to setting up Okazaki. (6/10)
Angelo Ogbonna: Arguably the only West Ham player replicate his standard from the win over Arsenal. Ogbonna was superb throughout. (7/10)
Aaron Cresswell: Suffered one or two hairy moments and was not able to get forward as much as he would have liked due to Mahrez's danger. (5/10)
Midfield
Reece Oxford: Struggled in the first half to enhance his burgeoning reputation, and was replaced by Obiang for the second half. (5/10)
Mark Noble: Played in the initial cross that led to Payet's strike in what was the only real contribution from him this afternoon. (5/10)
Dimitri Payet: Put West Ham back in the game with an excellent finish, but the Frenchman did not do enough before or after that goal to help his team this afternoon. (6/10)
Cheikhou Kouyate: Looked nowhere near as influential as he was last season - or even last week - as Leicester dealt with his physical threat expertly. (4/10)
Attack
Mauro Zarate: Relatively anonymous, with one mazy run that ended with a no-nonsense tackle from Huth being his only highlight of the entire game in truth. (4/10)
Diafra Sakho: Set up Payet, but overall did not do enough to spearhead the Irons' attack and missed a golden chance on 80 minutes. Though, he should have had a first-half penalty. (5/10)
Substitutes
Pedro Obiang: Replaced Oxford at the break and enjoyed a steady debut following his switch from Sampdoria. (6/10)
Manuel Lanzini: Replaced Kouyate but, apart from swinging a few hopeful balls into the box, could not influence things. (5/10)
Modibo Maiga: Only had seven minutes to make an impact but could not contribute much. (5/10)
LEICESTER
Goal
Kasper Schmeichel: So fortunate to avoid conceding a penalty and being sent off after fouling Sakho in the dying stages of the first half. But pulled off a good save late on to keep out Sakho. (6/10)
Defence
Richie De Laet: Proved a worthy adversary for Cresswell but very seldom ventured forward to test his English counterpart at the other end. (6/10)
Robert Huth: Certainly Leicester's best defender on the day as he kept Sakho and Zarate on a relatively short leash throughout the contest. (8/10)
Wes Morgan: Looked excellent alongside Huth again today, but was slightly lucky not to concede a penalty for fouling Sakho in the second half. (7/10)
Jeff Schlupp: Strong performance overall, but was nowhere to be seen when Noble drilled in the cross that led to Payet reducing the two-goal deficit. (6/10)
Midfield
Marc Albrighton: Frequently found himself in some really promising positions, but his final ball more often than not was either over-hit or under-hit as the attacks subsequently broke down. Did set up the second goal, however. (5/10)
Danny Drinkwater: Exceptional midfield performance in both halves, but could have put the game to bed when he ballooned a shot over the bar in a one-on-one with Adrian. (8/10)
Andy King: Sat in front of his back four well and made a number of well-timed challenges at crucial moments to thwart the Irons. (7/10)
Riyad Mahrez: Probably Leicester's best player on the day, just as he was last week, as the Algerian proved a thorn in West Ham's side all afternoon and scored a fantastic second goal. (7/10)
Attack
Shinji Okazaki:Subbed on 55 minutes but had a superb first-half display, scoring once and playing a huge part in the second. Fine game. (8/10)
Jamie Vardy: His brilliant cross set up the opener in an otherwise extremely industrious performance from the England international, who probably has the energy to run back to Leicester. (7/10)
Substitutes
N'Golo Kante: Replaced Okazaki and looked a sturdy and skillful proposition in defensive midfield for the Foxes. (6/10)
Christian Fuchs: Solid enough cameo from the German, who only had eight minutes of game time. (6/10)
Shane Callaghan
