Kelechi Iheanacho and Patson Daka were introduced in the second half as Leicester City bowed 4-1 to West Ham United in Monday’s Premier League game.
A brace from Michail Antonio and goals from Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals inspired the Hammers to an inspiring win over 10-man Foxes, who had Ayoze Perez sent off.
The King Power Stadium giants began their 2021-22 campaign on a winning note with Brendan Rodgers’ men defeating Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 at the King Power Stadium.
Against the Hammers, the reigning English FA Cup winners failed to sustain the tempo as they were silenced by David Moyes’ men.
In a 4-2-3-1 formation, Jamie Vardy led Leicester’s frontline while relying on the services of Perez, James Maddison, and Harvey Barnes.
Alongside Youri Tielemans, Nigeria international Wilfred Ndidi was handed a defensive midfield role, while the quartet of Luke Thomas, Caglar Soyuncu, Ghana’s Daniel Amartey and Ricardo Pereira were saddled with the task of providing cover for goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
Despite Iheanacho’s introduction in the 81st minute for Vardy, he was unable to improve on his impressive stats against the Hammers.
Prior to this fixture, he has been involved in four goals in the last four appearances against David Moyes’ team.
The Super Eagle was one of the top scorers in the Foxes set-up in the 2020-21 campaign having found the net 19 times in 38 appearances across all competitions.
For Daka, he was introduced as a replacement for Barnes in the 64th minute. The Zambian dominated the goalscoring charts in the Austrian Bundesliga – scoring goals in 28 league matches.
Meanwhile, Senegal international Nampalys Mendy did not feature in the game as he is still nursing a groin injury.
For the hosts, Benrahma – who held sway in the midfield alongside Fornals and Jarrod Bowen - put up an impressive showing before he was eventually subbed off for Mark Noble with two minutes left on the clock.
Elsewhere, former France youth international of Senegalese descent Issa Diop was an unused substitute in the five-goal thriller.
Moyes’ team have now stayed undefeated in their last twelve matches in all tournaments. They host Crystal Palace in their next outing on August 28.