New manager’s instant connection with fans stood in stark contrast to the forlorn, isolated figure in West Ham’s dugout Ninety-eight seconds. That was all that was required for Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City reign to get up and running. Jamie Vardy’s opener offered an early snapshot of Leicester in Van Nistelrooy’s image, too. Victor Kristiansen, hugging the left touchline, squared the ball to Bilal El Khannouss, who freed Leicester’s No 9, head down, open for business in the left channel. Vardy, wearing garish pink boots, stroked a timeless right-foot finish into the far corner. After a VAR check, he clinked into celebration mode, chuntering towards the away fans giving him grief. Even before Patson Daka made it 3-0 with stoppage time looming, the same supporters switched their attention to their manager. “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” came the chant. Julen Lopetegui, ashen-faced at the final whistle, will do well to survive this grisly defeat. Lopetegui combed his hand through his hair, his whirring mind in overdrive, under pressure. Welcome back to the brutal world of frontline management, Ruud. Continue reading...

Leicester earned a valuable home win over fellow promotion hopefuls West Brom to go back to the top of the Championship. The relief inside the King’s Power stadium was palpable. You pick your hero. Hamza Choudhury, whose timely defensive interventions meant Leicester saw this through or the goalscorers – Wilfred Ndidi, whose lung-busting runs saw the game out for the the home side, and Jamie Vardy, who looked to have made the game safe until Jed Wallace set up a nervy finish. At the turn of the year, Leicester looked certain to bounce straight back up to the Premier League, topping the table with a 13-point gap over the third-placed side at the time, Southampton. Two losses on the bounce against Milwall and Plymouth as well as a lack of clinical edge exhibited in those games and across the season has slowed optimism. According to Opta their conversion rate of 42% is the ninth highest in the division. Patson Daka spurning chances against Plymouth was representative of that. Vardy was similarly wasteful in last month’s defeat by Bristol City and looked to be following suit in this game. West Brom began the game pressing Leicester high, looking to catch Mads Hermansen in the home goal dawdling on the ball, and that bred anxiety in the crowd. Wallace playing as a false 9 caused havoc with runs into the channel. He cut back to Mikey Johnston, whose drive was blocked on the line by Hamza Choudhury. Chowdhury had been brought in as a hybrid right-sided midfielder and was involved in making sure the Leicester goal lived a charmed life as West Brom piled on the pressure in the early part of the first half. Hermansen was forced into a save again by Johnston, who was menacing throughout as he dribbled and probed into the gap between Conor Coady and Chowdury on the right of Leicester’s defence. Continue reading...

FA Cup quarter-final updates from the 12.45pm GMT kick-offLive scoreboard | And be sure to sign up for Football Daily Mauricio Pochettino brings in Mykhailo Mudryk, who scored from the bench against Newcastle on Monday, in place of the suspended Enzo Fernandez. That should mean Conor Gallagher dropping back and Cole Palmer playing as the No10. Robert Sanchez, demoted to cup goalie, comes in for Djordje Petrovic. Leicester also change keeper, with Jakub Stolarczyk in for Mads Hermansen. Callum Doyle, Wilfred Ndidi and Patson Daka come in for James Justin, Yunus Akgun and Jamie Vardy, who has a minor injury. Continue reading...

Jamie Vardy and Patson Daka strike twice as Foxes win 5-0Southampton win again; Ipswich beaten at Preston Leicester extended their lead at the top of the Championship to 11 points with a thumping 5-0 victory at Stoke. Patson Daka and Jamie Vardy both scored twice, including a penalty each, to inspire the Foxes to a comprehensive victory. The in-form Daka opened the scoring and Kasey McAteer doubled the visitors’ advantage shortly before the half-hour mark. After the break a first penalty of the afternoon for Leicester allowed Daka to net his second, his ninth goal involvement in his last eight matches. Vardy came off the bench to complete the rout, scoring his first goals in the league since November. Continue reading...

Afcon updates as a tight Group E concludes, 5pm GMT kick-offsManagers pay price at Afcon | And feel free to drop Yara an email Later tonight, Zambia will take on heavyweights Morocco in Group F and Patson Daka has impressed. The Leicester striker has struggled for Championship game time but has became the first player to score at every Afcon age level. Read more here from Calvin Kaumba Chikenge who is on the ground in Lusaka. For Namibia to lose to Mali AND for Tunisia to either fail to beat South Africa OR for them to beat South Africa by a score of 6-0 or more in Group E For Morocco to beat Zambia in Group F Continue reading...

Leicester striker has struggled for Championship game time but has became the first player to score at every Afcon age level It is perhaps no surprise that Patson Daka wrote himself into the history books by scoring for Zambia at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday. The 25-year-old has had to bide his time at Leicester City this season, spending a large part of it on the bench, but he has kept working hard and arrived in Ivory Coast with a point to prove. In Zambia’s first game he provided an assist as the Chipolopolo drew with the Democratic Republic of the Congo before scoring in the 1-1 draw with Tanzania and becoming the first player to find the net in every Afcon possible: the Under-17, Under-20, Under-23 and senior competition. Continue reading...

Watch highlights as a late Patson Daka header denies Tanzania their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations win against 10-man Zambia.

Patson Daka double helps leaders beat Rotherham 3-0Saints’ victory makes it 15 matches without defeat Patson Daka’s second-half double helped Leicester move six points clear at the top of the Championship with a comfortable 3-0 win against bottom-placed Rotherham. Daka opened the scoring on the hour with a simple finish from close range before then converting from the penalty spot five minutes later after he was fouled by Rotherham goalkeeper Viktor Johansson. Substitute Cesare Casadei completed the scoring with a diving header in the 72nd minute, sealing a fifth straight league win and extending their lead at the top following Ipswich’s heavy defeat at Leeds. Continue reading...

Mavididi strikes twice in 4-0 home win for leadersSecond-placed Ipswich win 2-0 against Middlesbrough Stephy Mavididi scored twice as Leicester cruised to a comfortable 4-0 win at home to Plymouth to remain top of the Championship. Mavididi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 14 minutes before the Foxes scored three goals in a scintillating seven-minute spell after the break to take the game out of Argyle’s reach. Patson Daka doubled the lead with a cool finish after 49 minutes before Mavididi drilled home his second of the game three minutes later. Continue reading...