BEVERLY HILLS, April 23, (THEWILL) – On Thursday night, as English Premier League East Midlands side Leicester City improved their chances of elite European football next season by convincingly beating Sam Allardyce’s West Bromwich Albion 3-0, Nigeria’s Kelechi Iheanacho also improved on his own in what already is an impressive season for the forward, finishing with a high 8.3 Fotmob rating.
In a game of conflicting pursuits, West Brom fighting to stay in the top flight and Leicester seeking Champions League football next season, early opportunities for both sides to break the deadlock were wasted until glimpses of the Jamie Vardy of old resurfaced to put Leicester’s glorious opportunities to efficient use.
It will be just the old versatile goal-poacher’s second goal in 15 league appearances but the emphatic finish bore markings of the Vardy that lit up the Premiership in the Foxes trophy-winning season and went on to break the record of consecutive goals scored by one player in a season.
The goal signalled what was to be a sudden halting of the animated resurgence of Allardyce’s relegation-battling West Brom. The second team from the bottom of the standings had done what no other side had been able to against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea: defeat them by multiple goals. West Brom then improved on that with another solid showing against Southampton.
It was touted as a late-season resurgence that could see Allardyce survive the drop, if it continued and if teams above them failed to get wins. But, they could not build on that winning trajectory against Champions League hopefuls, Leicester.
In the top-four race, Brendan Rodgers’ team have bettered their stake. The win creates a four-point buffer in third place and with only six games remaining in the 2020/2021 season. And, just as Iheanacho scored in confirming this victory, his contribution was vital in securing a final spot berth in the FA Cup for the Foxes.
The Nigerian kept things tidy with a third Leicester goal after Vardy and Jonny Evans had given The Foxes a two-goal advantage to compound a disappointing game for the Baggies. The assist came from a hard-working Vardy, whose entire work rate was only bettered by the performance of Leicester winger Timothy Castagne.
The goal was the ninth for Iheanacho this season, which is a personal record for the Nigerian striker, in the Premier League, for goals scored in a single-season in the top-flight. His nine so far take him one better than the eight he registered at Manchester City in the 2015-2016 cam
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
