Ruud van Nistelrooy savoured his first match in charge of Leicester City with a 3-1 English Premier League home win over West Ham United on Dec 3, while Crystal Palace edged Ipswich Town 1-0.

Jamie Vardy, Bilal El Khannouss and Patson Daka got the goals as van Nistelrooy enjoyed a dream start to his new role shortly after his departure from Manchester United.

“On a long-term basis we know the performances need to get better. But the spirit and how we want to do things we saw them today,” said the Dutchman.

“In the end you look at the result and the three points, it’s vital.

“We know the level in the Premier League and we know every game we play that everything has to be right. We have to train and develop our defence, our counter attack, our possession.

“Lots of things to work on but very happy with the three points.”

A lethal finisher in his playing days, van Nistelrooy watched on approvingly as Vardy opened the scoring after just 99 seconds at the King Power Stadium.

The 37-year-old had initially been flagged offside, but a VAR (video assistant referee) review showed he was clearly on for his fifth goal of the season.

Defeat ramps up the scrutiny of Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui after a seventh defeat in 14 Premier League games.

The visitors enjoyed the majority of possession and had 31 shots to Leicester’s eight but failed to make it count.

“A frustrating night because we deserved much more today,” said Lopetegui. “Normally we have to win this match but we didn’t because we didn’t score.”

West Ham did have a goal controversially ruled out when Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen punched the ball into his own net and was relieved to be awarded a foul due to minimal contact from Tomas Soucek.

Conor Coady also cleared off the line from Crysencio Summerville in the second half.

But Leicester remained a threat on the counter-attack and doubled their lead when El Khannouss coolly stroked home Kasey McAteer’s pass.

Daka then blasted in to make it 3-0 before Niclas Fuellkrug netted a late consolation with his first West Ham goal.

Elsewhere, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored the only goal at Portman Road as Palace won the battle of two more sides at the bottom end of the table.

The Frenchman produced a classy finish from Eberechi Eze’s pass on the hour mark to secure the Eagles’ first away win of the season.

Palace pull three points clear of the bottom three, before another round of fixtures on Dec 4, while Ipswich remain second from bottom and winless at home on their return to the top flight.

However, Palace captain Marc Guehi is now at risk of a suspension after defying a Football Association warning over displaying religious messages.

As part of the “Rainbow Laces” campaign to show support for the LGBTQ+ community, Premier League captains are wearing rainbow-coloured armbands.

Guehi’s armband bore the message “I love Jesus” during their 1-1 draw against Newcastle last weekend, prompting the FA to contact Guehi and Palace and remind them of rules forbidding the display of religious messages.

The England defender doubled down on his message with “Jesus loves you” displayed on his rainbow-coloured armband.

“Everyone now is about integration, no discrimination and Marc as well,” said Palace boss Oliver Glasner. “He has his opinion and we accept and respect every opinion.”

Ipswich captain Sam Morsy, who also caused controversy by opting not to wear the rainbow armband against Nottingham Forest at the weekend, once again wore a regular armband.

His club issued a statement on Dec 2 saying he chose not to wear the rainbow armband due to his religious beliefs.

-AFP

 Ruud van Nistelrooy was disappointed to leave Manchester United after his successful spell as interim coach came to an end but the Dutchman said he understands why new manager Ruben Amorim wanted to bring his own assistants into the club.

Van Nistelrooy, who was appointed Leicester City manager at the end of last month, went unbeaten in his four games in charge at United following Erik ten Hag’s dismissal, having previously served as his compatriot’s assistant.

“I was disappointed, yeah, very much so, and it hurt that I had to leave,” he told reporters on Monday.

“The only job I would take as an assistant was at United because of the bond that I have with the people in the club and the fans. But in the end I got my head round it because I also understand the new manager.

“I spoke to Ruben Amorim about it, the conversation was grateful, man to man, manager to manager, and that helped a lot to move on and straightaway get into talks with new possibilities which lifted my spirits.”

Van Nistelrooy scored 150 goals in a highly successful five-year stint at United before moving to Real Madrid but the former striker said he has the battling qualities to help 16th-placed Leicester avoid relegation.

“People see Real Madrid, Manchester United, but my first three seasons as a professional were in Dutch football with FC Den Bosch, so I know what it’s like to fight,” he added.

Leicester host West Ham United in the Premier League later on Tuesday.

-Reuters

Enzo Maresca does not believe his Chelsea side are in the English Premier League title race, despite an impressive start to the season in his first campaign at Stamford Bridge.

Victory over Aston Villa at home on Dec 1 would be a seventh win in 13 league games under the Italian, who was appointed as Mauricio Pochettino’s successor in June.

Ahead of the clash, Chelsea were fourth in the table, level on 22 points with Arsenal, who could leapfrog them should they beat West Ham United on Nov 30. The result of that match was unavailable at press time.

The Blues are a point behind Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion, and nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea are in the hunt to return to the Champions League after two seasons away and Maresca has fashioned an effective team from a bloated squad.

But the 44-year-old Italian was keen to play down suggestions that his side could be the one to end City’s four-year title streak this season.

“No,” he said, when asked whether they were in the title race.

“I said many times I didn’t like the pressure. I don’t like to say ‘Yes we are there’ but we are not there.

“Arsenal are ahead of us, City is ahead of us, Liverpool showing they are ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game after game and then we will see.

“For me, it is not about points or the table, it is about the process. Five years together (Arsenal), nine together (City). Liverpool is different but they didn’t make too many changes from before. It’s not about the points difference on the table, it is about the time together.”

Liverpool and City are meeting on Dec 1, giving Chelsea the chance to make up ground on the teams above them but Maresca also urged caution.

“You have to be realistic. You can see the difference between us and the rest in this moment. It doesn’t mean we are not going to compete and win games. We will do that to the end. The main focus has to be the feeling we are improving game after game,” he added.

Maresca played for Sevilla from 2005 to 2009, about four years before current Villa boss Unai Emery took charge of the La Liga club and led them to three Europa League titles.

He heaped praise on the Spaniard, who was appointed by Villa in October 2022 and helped the Birmingham-based side qualify for the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League last season.

“Villa have a top manager, they are doing fantastic. I know Emery from Sevilla and I know how intense they are. They are showing fantastic things with very good players. It will be a tough game,” he said.

Villa, three points back, are winless in seven consecutive matches in all competitions and Emery has urged his side to “keep going”.

“Now, we are going to face Chelsea. Of course, difficult, and those three points will be very important,” the 53-year-old said.

“The most important thing is to try to build our team, to feel comfortable and strong and try to correct some mistakes we are doing.”

-AFP/Reuters