Premier League
Leicester City 1-1 West Ham United 

Saturday, 27th October 2018
by Staff Writer

Ten men West Ham were denied all three points at the King Power Stadium by a very late and very lucky deflection.

The Hammers, leading 1-0 thanks to Fabian Balbuena's first competitive goal for the club conceded with just 22 seconds of regulation time remaining as the Foxes forced a draw when Wilfred Ndidi's shot took a huge deflection off the South American.

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And it was perhaps the only way Claude Puel's men were going to beat Hammers 'keeper Lukasz Fabianski, who once was again imperious between the stick for Manuel Pellegrini's side.

West Ham took the lead on the half-hour mark when Balbuena stole ahead of City's defence to head against the post before converting the rebound.

However the Hammers were up against it just nine minutes later when Mark Noble was instantly dismissed for a mis-timed challenge, that referee Michael Oliver decided was worthy of a red card.

West Ham, who recorded back-to-back defeats in the Premier League prior to this evening's encounter will no doubt be the happier of the two teams - despite going so close to recording their first Premier League win this month.

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Player Ratings

Lukasz Fabianski
Another outstanding performance and it took a freak goal to beat him. It's the only way Leicester were going to.


Pablo Zabaleta
Gave everything even if his determination spilled over occasionally (as Ben Chilwell might attest!)


Arthur Masuaku
Much better, from a defensive perspective, for a player perhaps better suited to a more expansive role.


Issa Diop
A star is born. No wonder PSG are said to be sniffing around with rumours of potential ??50m bids.


Fabian Balbuena
Outstanding in defence. It took two bites of the cherry but The General has his first goal. Loses a point for not celebrating suitably.


Declan Rice
Started well but was forced to exert greater influence once Mark Noble foolishly saw red. And he did, with aplomb.


Mark Noble
Was his usual busy self, before he got a little too busy. The challenge was late, reckless and almost certainly unintentional; the kind where an aging player's legs don't necessarily keep up with the brain. The net result is a three-match ban, at a most unwelcome time.


Felipe Anderson
Defended ably but presented little attacking threat.


Robert Snodgrass
For all the (continued) effort, which is laudable, there was little end product today. That you can get by with in the Championship, but a little something special is what keeps you playing in the top flight.


Grady Diangana
Ran his socks off and won the free kick that led to Balbuena's goal. Impressive again.


Javier Hernandez
Utterly ineffective which is baffling, given that this was a rare chance to impress from within the starting XI.



Substitutes

Michail Antonio
(Replaced Hernandez) It couldn't get much worse after Javier's ineffective performance, but the out-of-sorts Antonio certainly gave it a good shot. His most notable contribution was a promising 30-yard run which ended when he ran past the ball, before retrieving it and chipping it gently into the arms of a grateful Kasper Schmeichel.


Aaron Cresswell
(Replaced Diangana) Came on to improve defensive reinforcements as the good ship West Ham began to rock, but the loss of the energetic (albeit tiring) Diangana lessened the pressure on an advancing City.


Angelo Ogbonna
(Replaced Anderson) Thrown into midfield and with a little more composure could've grabbed an unlikely second prior to Leicester's equaliser.


Adrian San Miguel del Castillo
Did not play.


Ryan Fredericks
Did not play.


Connor Coventry
Did not play.


Joe Powell
Did not play.



Match Facts

West Ham United: Lukasz Fabianski, Pablo Zabaleta, Arthur Masuaku, Issa Diop, Fabian Balbuena, Declan Rice, Mark Noble, Felipe Anderson, Robert Snodgrass, Grady Diangana, Javier Hernandez.

Goals: Fabian Balbuena 30                  .

Booked: None.

Sent off: None.

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Amartey, Soyuncu (Okazaki 80), Maguire, Chilwell, Iborra, Ndidi, Maddison, Albrighton, Ghezzal (Vardy 46), Iheanacho (Gray 61).

Subs not used: Ward, Evans, Mendy, Pereira.

Goals: Ndidi (90).

Booked: Soyuncu.

Sent off: None.

Referee: Michael Oliver.

Attendance: 0.

Man of the Match: Declan Rice.