West Ham v Leicester player ratings: Jesse Lingard a scintillating 9; Jonny Evans 5, Jamie Vardy 6

Hammers back in the top four and just a point behind Leicester after thrilling win

WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski 6 – Made a number of routine saves before stepping up with an all-important interception in the last ten minutes to stop Leicester scoring another. Patrolled his box well. EPA

Vladimir Coufal 7 – Caused some chaos down the right flank, grabbing himself an assist in the 29th minute by teeing up Lingard’s strike. Reuters

Craig Dawson 6 – Dawson swept up well at the back. He could and should have closed down Iheanacho for the first Leicester goal, but he could do very little to stop the second. EPA

Issa Diop 6 – Much like his centre-half partner, Diop had a quiet game defensively and was unable to prevent a late rally. He had a goal ruled out for offside in the 55th minute after finding the net with a header off the post. Reuters

Aaron Cresswell 6 – Forced off with injury after 52 minutes but had a solid game, getting into a few decent crossing positions. Reuters

Tomas Soucek 7 – Soucek picked up an early card, but it didn’t impact his role in the game. He got an assist at the start of the second half with an easy pass to Bowen. Reuters

Mark Noble 6 – Lined up in his 400th Premier League appearance and had a solid showing. Kept the Hammers ticking over and took a body blow while blocking a shot, showing his commitment to the cause. Getty

Pablo Fornals 6 – Didn’t have much of an impact on the game, but took up some nice positions for the Hammers. Reuters

Jesse Lingard 9 – Lingard will have certainly impressed the onlooking Gareth Southgate with an impressive double. The on-loan man made it eight goals since signing in January, and he ran the Foxes ragged throughout. Reuters

Arthur Masuaku 6 – Dropped into a back five at the end and defended well to keep the Hammers secure for all three points. PA

Jarrod Bowen 8 – Bowen grabbed a goal and an assist either side of the break to put the Hammers into a commanding position. The forward’s relentlessness caused issues for Leicester on numerous occasions. PA

SUBS: Fabian Balbuena (Cresswell 52’) 6 – The substitute stepped in well for the injured Cresswell. The full-back didn’t offer much going forward but made sure West Ham just about kept all three points. AFP

Ben Johnson (Noble 82’) N/R – Brought on for a nervy end to the game. Put in a risky challenge in the box but Pereira stayed on his feet. AP

Said Benrahma (Bowen 84’) N/R - Came on to provide fresh legs up front and got a few touches, but not much more. EPA

LEICESTER RATINGS: Kasper Schmeichel 6 – Made some routine saves. He couldn’t do much about the first strike from Lingard and despite making himself big for the second and third goals, he was well beaten for those too. Getty

Wesley Fofana 5 – Misjudged the flight of the ball in the air on one occasion, allowing Bowen in behind for an easy finish for the second goal. AP

Jonny Evans 5 – Struggled playing the high line and the defence overall nervy throughout. Played Bowen onside for the second and was unable to catch the forward once he made his way through. Getty

Daniel Armartey 6 - Only played the first half and didn’t have much to do, but was sacrificed for a change of personnel. On one occasion, the 26-year-old put Schmeichel in danger with a casual back pass. Getty

Timothy Castagne 6 – Came alive when Leicester pulled one back and provided several crosses at that point, but couldn’t create chances of significance. Getty

Wilfred Ndidi 6 – Walked a tightrope for much of the match after picking up a yellow card. The midfielder couldn’t offer his usual protection for the back three, as most balls came over the top. Getty

Youri Tielemans 6 – Struggled to get onto the ball in the first half but began to offer more once the Foxes pulled one back. Reuters

Ricardo Pereira 6 – Got the assist for Iheanacho’s fantastic strike, pressing well and winning the ball back for the goal in West Ham’s half. Getty

Dennis Praet 6 – Had a quiet game, unable to find many pockets of space behind Soucek and Noble. Brought off for Albrighton after an hour as the Foxes tried to chase the game. Getty

Jamie Vardy 6 – Vardy struggled to get himself in the game, taking shots from range but not getting much joy behind the West Ham line. AP

Kelechi Iheanacho 8 – Gave away the ball too easily for West Ham’s third but scored a fantastic strike to give Leicester some hope, before grabbing another in stoppage time to make for a nervy finish. EPA

SUBS: Luke Thomas (Armartey 46’) 6 – The young wing-back wasn’t able to add much of a spark, having a quiet but secure game off the bench. AP

Marc Albrighton (Praet 60’) 7 – Offered a spark for Rodgers’ side, putting in some quality deliveries, grabbing an assist and causing plenty of issues for the home defence. Reuters

Jesse Lingard's hot streak continued as West Ham climbed back into fourth spot in the Premier League with a 3-2 victory over third-placed Leicester City.

Lingard, who has been in scintillating form since arriving on loan from Manchester United in midseason, took his tally for the Hammers to eight goals with two strikes before half time.

Jarrod Bowen made it 3-0 shortly after the interval and Issa Diop's effort was ruled out for offside, with the home side rampant at the London Stadium.

Leicester, weakened by the absence of Ayoze Perez, James Maddison and Hamza Choudhury who were omitted for a breach of Covid-19 protocols, finally began to show the intensity required and got a lifeline when Kelechi Iheanacho fired home with 20 minutes left.

West Ham, who squandered a 3-0 lead to draw with Arsenal last month and almost did the same against Wolves in midweek, looked nervy and Iheanacho ramped up the tension with a second goal in stoppage time.

The Hammers survived six added minutes to maintain their quest for an unlikely top-four spot. They moved back above Liverpool and Chelsea with 55 points from 31 games, one point behind Leicester, who suffered a second successive defeat.

Player ratings from the match can be seen in the picture gallery above. To view the next image, click on the arrows or swipe if on a mobile device.