Van Nistelrooy labels two Leicester stars 'outstanding' vs West Ham, £6.5m ace 'had unbelievable game'

As Ruud van Nistelrooy rattled off those who impressed him during Leicester City’s heroic 3-1 win over West Ham United, it would be quicker to jot down those the Dutchman did not name at full-time.

Goalscorers Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss and super-sub Patson Daka had Van Nistelrooy purring.

But, clinical at one end and heroic if a little fortunate at the other, the former Manchester United assistant was never going to let his first post-match interview pass by without paying tribute to Mads Hermansen, Conor Coady, Jannik Vestergaard and his two colossal midfield totems; Boubakary Soumare and Wilfred Ndidi.

West Ham, after all, managed 31 shots to the visitors’ eight. Ten on target compared to Leicester’s six.

But as The Hammers were restricted to a 93rd minute Niclas Fullkrug consolation – Julen Lopetegui on the brink with Sergio Conceicao keen to take his place – Leicester’s third win of the Premier League campaign owed as much to some heroic defending and some unbeatable goalkeeping, let alone a trio of emphatic finishes past a despairing Lukasz Fabianski.

Jamie Vardy and Bilal El Khannouss hailed as Leicester smash West Ham

“Its the run that we know he makes,” Van Nistelrooy says of Vardy’s second-minute opener, the evergreen striker racing onto El Khannouss’ defence-splitting assist to curve home in trademark fashion.

“I think it is a great assist as well from Bilal. [El Khannouss] had a good game. He finished with a goal and an assist, and worked hard as well. He started on the left, we played with him on the inside and pushed Victor [Kristiansen, the left-back] up.

“But a great run and calm finish [from Vardy] around the legs of the goalkeeper, and well-timed.

“With Macca [Kasey McAteer], with Bilal making these runs… We know Jamie but also with Daka coming on. [Daka] is also the profile [of Vardy], with a lot of speed and movement off the ball. So its definitely something I was happy to see in these moments.”

On a night in which Leicester’s £22 million summer addition finally hit his stride – El Khannouss struggled under Steve Cooper but seems refreshed by the faith shown in him by the more front-footed Van Nistelrooy – Daka’s long-awaited first goal since February was nothing short of ruthless.

Bordering on brutal.

A £23 million signing from Red Bull Salzburg, form and fitness has often been fleeting for Daka during his Leicester City career.

Now, if only there was someone at the King Power he could turn to for advice about how to blossom into a truly top-level centre-forward…

Van Nistelrooy delighted by Patson Daka, Wilfred Ndidi and co

‘We know Patson with his pace,” smiles Van Nistelrooy, one of the finest finishers the Premier League has ever seen. “It’s a great touch, go straight to goal, don’t go back on these angles. It’s a great finish, top corner.

“He created it all on his own, so well done. I was happy for him. He has got good potential, something to develop.”

Hermansen, Leicester’s perennially overworked glovesman, added another seven saves to his Premier League collection.

Coady and Vestergaard threw every inch of their considerable frames on the line – the former England international even completed a heroic off-the-line clearance – while the classy Soumare and the destructive Ndidi mustered 13 tackles between them.

“Mads had an unbelievable game,” Van Nistelrooy adds, Leicester moving to within two points of West Ham and putting a gap between themselves and the relegation zone.

“The centre-backs and the two sixes, they were outstanding. Soumare and Ndidi, they had a hell of a game. They kept us in it as well.

“But we know how hard the Premier League is. We saw that today against West Ham.”