West Ham sack Pellegrini after loss to Leicester

A much-changed Leicester inflicted the final blow of Manuel Pellegrini's time in charge of West Ham with a 2-1 win as Manchester United closed on the Premier League's top four with a 2-0 victory at Burnley.

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford struck late in each half to take United above Tottenham in fifth after Spurs were held 2-2 draw at Norwich.

Pellegrini was sacked soon after the Hammers succumbed to a Leicester side that made nine changes after a Boxing Day thrashing by Liverpool.

Jamie Vardy was among those missing due to the birth of his daughter, but Kelechi Iheanacho and Demarai Gray made the most of their chance for a rare Premier League start by scoring either side of half-time.

"Anytime you come in if you're not playing so much you have to try and stamp your mark and get yourself in the team," said Gray, who also saw an early penalty saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

The Foxes move 10 points behind Liverpool and stretch their lead in second over Manchester City to four points.

Pablo Fornals levelled for the Hammers just before half-time, but they remain just one point above the relegation zone after a seventh defeat in nine games.

Tottenham edged ahead of Wolves on goal difference but missed the chance to leapfrog fourth-placed Chelsea as their defensive deficiencies were again exposed by bottom-of-the-table Norwich.

Mario Vrancic was afforded time and space to fire the Canaries into an early lead and only the finest of margins on a VAR review for offside denied Teemu Pukki putting Norwich 2-0 up before half-time.

Christian Eriksen's brilliant free-kick levelled for Spurs early in the second half, but Jose Mourinho's men shot themselves in the foot again soon after as Serge Aurier's own goal restored Norwich's lead.

Tottenham's dominance after the break was rewarded eight minutes from time through Harry Kane's penalty after the England international had been chopped down inside the area.

West Ham United can confirm that Manuel Pellegrini has left the Club with immediate effect.

— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 28, 2019