🦁 Leicester win on Van Nistelrooy debut; Palace edge past Ipswich

Midweek action in the Premier League kicked off with two fixtures in the run-up to key clashes on Wednesday.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy made his managerial debut for Leicester City against visiting West Ham United, while Ipswich and Crystal Palace locked horns at Portman Road in a critical clash with potential relegation implications.

Here's how it all went down this evening.

A debutant win for Van Nistelrooy

Scorers: Vardy 2', El Khannouss 61', Daka 90'; Füllkrug 90+4'

The Ruud van Nistelrooy era is up and running at the King Power Stadium after Leicester City saw off a free-firing West Ham in a 3-1 win.

On a night when Foxes supporters were keen to see their new headmaster on the King Power touchline, the former Manchester United and Netherlands striker guided his new side with relative precision.

Leicester struck first through who else but Jamie Vardy in just the second minute after a review by VAR ultimately awarded the veteran striker his goal, setting the night off on the right foot.

West Ham looked increasingly likely to pull back level after Tomáš Souček headed just wide from an inch-perfect Mohamed Kudus cross.

It was a theme that continued across over 90 minutes of action, with the Hammers registering 30 shots (10 on frame) by the full-time whistle.

But the numbers did not fall in favour of under-pressure boss Julen Lopetegui when Leicester doubled their advantage through young Moroccan international Bilal El Khannouss, who converted Kasey McAteer's cut-back to give the Foxes some breathing room.

Patson Daka would make it 3-0 on the night on the back of yet another incisive Leicester counter, with the Zambian striker roofing his effort past Łukasz Fabiański after blowing past Max Kilman.

West Ham did peg one back through German international Niklas Füllkrug in added time, but could not avoid their seventh defeat of the league campaign.

Van Nistelrooy extended his undefeated managerial run to 16 combined matches between his stints with PSV Eindhoven, Manchester United, and Leicester, with the new manager bounce now in full effect.

Palace banks critical three-point haul in narrow win

Scorers: Mateta 59'

Ipswich welcomed Crystal Palace to Portman Road in a critical pre-festive period battle at the bottom of the Premier League table, with the visitors winning 1-0.

Neither side could find any separation during the opening 45 minutes of action in East Anglia, with Oliver Glasner's visiting Eagles struggling to find consistency this term.

The second half mirrored the first, but just as Ipswich began to muster some more attacking impetus in front of home support, Palace struck first.

French striker Jean-Philippe Mateta powered his way past Jacob Greaves before dispatching a cheeky chipped finish over keeper Arijanet Muric to give the visitors a much-needed breakthrough.

It would be the only goal on the night despite Palace probably deserving at least one more, with this result seeing them temporarily up to 15th and four points clear of the relegation zone.

📸 Michael Regan - 2024 Getty Images