Hammond: Key Moments Went Against Leicester

- Leicester City were beaten 4-1 by West Ham United at London Stadium on Monday
- Pablo Fornals, Saïd Benrahma and Michail Antonio (2) got the goals for the Hammers
- Former Foxes midfielder Dean Hammond praised the home side's performance in Stratford
- However, Hammond says he is confident that City can recovery from the setback swiftly

Brendan Rodgers' men left the capital empty handed as Ayoze Pérez's red card and an impressive performance from the Hammers contributed to City's first Premier League defeat of the season.

Reflecting on that encounter at London Stadium, Hammond, who starred across LCFC Radio's four-hour coverage of the fixture, was keen to offer due praise to David Moyes' hosts, while also pointing to reasons for optimism for Leicester.

A raucous atmosphere provided by the east London locals added to the sense of occasion for Hammond, who believes the Foxes caught West Ham on a particularly good night for the home side.

"It definitely did make a difference, especially after West Ham went in front and then after the sending off as well," the former Leicester midfielder said. "The fans were excellent for West Ham and so were the players. They put on a very good performance. They were disciplined and organised.

"David Moyes, tactically, got it spot on with the shape they held which really frustrated Leicester. If they can play like that every week, the West Ham fans will really enjoy watching them. Antonio up front was so impressive and Declan Rice was fantastic, full of energy. 

"They deserved the win but there were moments there for Leicester. At 2-1, it could have changed and they might have got back into the game, but that third goal just killed it. When the [Youri Tielemans] goal went in, you just thought that if Leicester could stay in the game, there might be some pressure.

"There might have been a change in the atmosphere. Credit to West Ham. They kept stretching the play and they made the pitch big and they tired Leicester down unfortunately. The gaps opened up and they created opportunities. Antonio was on it. He was powerful and strong and finished well.

"It wasn't Leicester's night, but it's nothing to worry about. You're going to lose games in a season. It's about how you react."

The Foxes remain without several key defensive figures due to injury and Hammond has no doubts at all that they will recover from the set back and pick up positive results at this early stage of the 2021/22 campaign.

"If Brendan Rodgers can have everyone fit within the squad, he's going to have huge headaches with his selection," Hammond added. "[Jannik] Vestergaard is a superb signing. I watched a lot of him last year playing for Southampton and he's a very good defender. 

"Physically, he's strong. He's good on the ball, which obviously Brendan wants from his centre-backs. Jonny Evans brings that real experience, which I think was missed. In moments where you just want to calm the play the game down and stay in the game, that was needed.

"There's players to come back into the squad. When you haven't got your best defenders out, at this level, you can struggle because teams are going to create opportunities against you and then you're under pressure to score at the other end. The squad's strong at Leicester, it really is.

"It's just about getting everyone fit, getting into a rhythm of winning games, and that will come. It definitely will come."