WEST HAM kept up their challenge for a place in the top four with this hard-fought win over Champions League place rivals Leicester City.

The home team quickly took control of the game, with loanee Jesse Lingard instrumental in most of their best creative moves.

It was Lingard who put the home team ahead on the half hour, sweeping home from the edge of the area after a Vladimir Coufal cross.

Then a minute before half time, Issa Diop sent a long ball from the back, which Jarrod Bowen took on, squaring the ball for Lingard to tap home his eighth goal in claret and blue.

The Hammers looked totally in command when a few minutes into the second half Arthur Masuaku found Lingard, who put Tomas Soucek away. The big Czech laid the ball on in the penalty area for Bowen to ram home.

Diop headed home a Lingard cross but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Then with 20 minutes to go West Ham strangely let Leicester back into the game, ending up hanging on for victory.

First, a careless pass back from Masuaku went straight to Kelechi Iheanacho, who fired home from the edge of the penalty area.

Iheanacho then doubled his tally a minute into injury time, driving home a deflected Marc Albrighton cross.  

West Ham manager David Moyes was unhappy about how his team almost let the points slip, after conceding goals for the third time in a row after taking a three goal lead.

“I was disappointed at the way we finished the game. We could have been four goals up,” said Moyes. “We seem to go three up and conceded goals — I don’t like that, we have to do something about it.”

Moyes paid tribute to the impact Lingard has made at the club since his arrival in January, lifting the play and the players.

He also credited Mark Noble for his display, admitting that the experienced players really will be vital for the run in, if West Ham are to gain a European place.

“We’ve got momentum and confidence in how we play … but we can’t lose too many players,” said Moyes.

Leicester’s display was slightly overshadowed by the absence of James Maddison, Hamza Choudhury and Ayoz Perez, who were dropped from the squad for breaking Covid-19 protocols.

The three have not trained in the past week but will be back in contention for the FA Cup semi-final next weekend.

“Some things are bigger than football, we have to respect that and what the nation has gone through,” said Brendan Rodgers, the Leicester manager.

Rodgers felt his team were too passive and were not aggressive enough.