Leicester 1-2 Southampton: Report, Ratings and Reaction as Saints Avenge 9-0 Defeat

Leicester slumped to their fifth defeat of the season as Southampton avenged their 9-0 drubbing earlier in the campaign by beating the Foxes 2-1 at the King Power Stadium. 

Danny Ings should have given Saints the lead early on, when some clumsy defending from the hosts allowed the in-form striker a one-on-one, only for the former Liverpool man to fire straight at Kasper Schmeichel. Southampton were made to rue that missed chance in the 14th minute when Ayoze Perez sprayed an excellent pass to Jamie Vardy, who then crossed for Dennis Praet to sweep home. 

The Foxes lead lasted only six minutes when a Stuart Armstrong shot found its way past Schmeichel via a James Maddison deflection.The goal sparked a period of dominance for the visitors with Ings rattling the woodwork on two occasions before half-time. 

Danny Ings,Kasper Schmeichel

The entertainment continued after the break with VAR overturning a Saints penalty due to Shane Long being offside in the build up to the incident. Soon after Leicester were also denied by the technology with Kelechi Iheanacho's deft finish being disallowed for offside. 


Southampton took the lead with ten minutes left to play with Ings finally finding the back of the net after missing a string of good opportunities. Jonny Evans would have a goal ruled out for offside in the last few minutes which was the closest the Foxes came to levelling things up.


LEICESTER

Key Talking Point

After sticking nine past the Saints last time out, Brendan Rodgers' side would have come into the game full of confidence. Despite this, they delivered a far from vintage first half display with several careless lapses in concentration allowing Saints ​a clear sight at goal. Complacency perhaps? 


The Foxes looked passive in midfield, sitting very deep which invited pressure and allowed Southampton to dominate the early stages, having 13 shots to the home side's two.

Leicester continued to look out of sorts after half time creating very little until the introduction of super-subs Iheanacho and Demarai Gray.


Even their contributions were not enough however with Ings' goal condemning the Foxes to a deserved defeat.


Player Ratings

Starting XI: Schmeichel (7); Pereira (6), Evans (7*), Soyuncu (5), Chilwell (5); Choudhury (5), Pérez (6), Praet (7), Maddison (5), Barnes (5); Vardy (6)

Substitutes: Tielemans (6), Iheanacho (7), Gray (7)


STAR MAN

Jonny Evans

With his teammates crumbling around him Jonny Evans was a rare example of calmness and composure for the Foxes this afternoon.


Evans operated confidently all afternoon and kept Leicester in the game for far longer than they deserved. 


SOUTHAMPTON 

Key Talking Point

Southampton have progressed a long, long way since that fateful Friday night in October and they were clearly keen to demonstrate that to their former tormentors early on.

Southampton's high-press created a number of good opportunities in the first period and the in-form Ings was denied by the woodwork twice in quick succession. 

Southampton continued to impress in the second half and were desperately unlucky that VAR intervened to overturn a penalty decision.

Eventually Saints' pressure paid off as Ralph Hasenhuttl's side stretched their unbeaten run to six games courtesy of Ings' scrappy finish.


Player Ratings

Starting XI: McCarthy (7); Soares (7), Stephens (7), Bednarek (7), Bertrand (7); Armstrong (8*), Ward-Prowse (7), Hojbjerg (6), Redmond (6); Long (6), Ings (7)

Substitutes: Djenepo (6)


STAR MAN

Stuart Armstrong

Industrious and creative, Stuart Armstrong was the pick of the bunch for Southampton at the King Power Stadium. 

Scoring the visitors opening goal, Armstrong's defensive contributions also limited Leicester to hardly any attacks down the left-hand side.


Looking Ahead

Next up, Leicester face a tough trip to Turf Moor to take on Sean Dyche's ​Burnley, while Southampton host high-flying ​Wolves.



Source : 90min