Leicester Away Lost 4 – 1
Ralph seemed to have stuck to a similar starting formation for his side at Leicester in the last game, although with different names: Romeu and Stuart Armstrong in, and with Broja set to return to Chelsea, it made sense for a change to the sole striker – Adam Armstrong getting the gig ahead of Adams. In fact it wasn’t the same formation as faced Liverpool at all, with Redmond’s quite effective career at left back seeming to have lasted just 90 minutes as he had a much more advanced role. The two teams were exchanging blows fairly evenly throughout an open first half, but they were sparring bout punches really in what looked to be a low-key affair. I think it would have suited worn-out Saints for the game to have continued in that vein until the end, but on 49 minutes a long kick out by Schmeichel caused Lyanco to miss not just one but two headed clearances, allowing Vardy to sneak in between the defender and McCarthy and then Maddison tapped in the opener after the keeper had saved. For some reason Saints protested at length about the perfectly correct decision to restart with Leicester in possession; well, if there was any doubt, they had plenty of time to ask… but had the protests been over whether the injured player (Vardy!) should have left the pitch, then they may have had a point. Lyanco redeemed himself a bit by reacting well when another Leicester break left him as the only defender, but no lessons were learned and the home team picked us off again to go two-up when Barnes and Vardy combined, and we didn’t want Vardy to have a chance like that. Referee Moss, officiating in his last Premier League game, has a reputation for awarding spot kicks but it was an easy decision to give one to Saints when Stuart Armstrong was tripped by Tielemans – Ward-Prowse converted powerfully. With over ten minutes playing time remaining, hopes that there might be a stirring Southampton finish were reasonable, but Salisu started to forget he was acting as the left back rather than centre back, and he was twice found out of position as Pérez scored two more Foxes goals when far too much space on the flank was conceded – first to Pérezhimself and also when Pereira crossed for Pérez to notch his second with the last Leicester kick of the match.
LSSC Man of the Match: Nathan Redmond again. You wait all season for him to find a bit of form, then he gets MotM twice just as rumours that he might leave start to circulate.
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