Leicester City snapped a two-match losing run with a 4-1 defeat of West Ham United on Wednesday.
The third-place Foxes move to 48 points, but lost Jamie Vardy and Nampalys Mendy to first half injuries.
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Harvey Barnes and Ricardo Pereira set each other up for goals and Ayoze Perez scored twice late in the win.
Mark Noble scored a penalty of his own for the losing side, whose 23 points are out of the drop zone on goal differential. The Irons have played one fewer match than everyone but Liverpool.
Three things we learned
1. Barnes rides high: Harvey Barnes is having an uneven season in the Premier League, like many to just turn 22. But the youngster is certainly on an upswing, having scored in a weekend loss at Burnley and collecting a goal and an assist on Wednesday. His six assists lead the Foxes, and may just be the tip of the iceberg.
2. More of the same from West Ham (and that’s not good): David Moyes‘ West Ham looks a lot like Manuel Pellegrini‘s West Ham, which isn’t a surprise given the latter’s better reputation in recent seasons. It’s a draw and two losses since the 4-0 win over an abject Bournemouth, and the Irons’ match-in-hand on the relegation field is against Liverpool (who they still face twice). Felipe Anderson is set to miss a month and that won’t ease concerns either.
3. Vardy injury, defense a big concern: The league’s leading scorer got his leg stretched out on the pitch and was favoring his gluteal area in the first half, eventually limping off the field. Losing him would ask a lot of Kelechi Iheanacho.
The Foxes also would be wrong to overlook another goal conceded, even if it came by controversial penalty. Leicester has conceded in seven of eight league matches, and five included multiple goals. It’s not a huge worry in a 4-1, but a trend indeed.
Man of the Match: Barnes.
Jamie Vardy cut into the box early but his first touch betrayed him and couldn’t get full power on a shot to Darren Randolph.
The in-form Barnes got the Foxes in front by turning a Ricardo Pereira dinked pass into the open goal.
An injury to Nampalys Mendy accelerated the return of Wilfred Ndidi to the pitch, the midfielder returning in the 34th minute.
Vardy was then forced off the pitch with an apparent back injury, bringing Kelechi Iheanacho into the fold in the 44th minute.
Barnes then returned the favor to Pereira, who whistled his effort into the goal in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time.
A brilliant strike from Ricardo 👏🦊 pic.twitter.com/7OC0QMflvT
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 22, 2020
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But hold on.
Noble needed just five second half minutes to pull one back for David Moyes’ men, as Sebastien Haller won a suspect penalty off Ndidi.
Kasper Schmeichel made a fine save on Michail Antonio to keep it 2-1.
Leiceste regained control and looked the only threat to make it 3-1 after that, with Perez converted a penalty after Angelo Ogbonna fouled Kelechi Iheanacho.
The Nigerian forward then set up Perez for his second to salt away the win.
Follow @NicholasMendola
