Premier League: Leicester comeback stuns Southampton
Southampton 2 - 3 Leicester City
Russell Martin's Southampton side squandered a two-goal lead in their 3-2 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday afternoon at St Mary's.
Cameron Archer opened the scoring in the eighth minute, finishing from close range after a swift free kick led to Ryan Manning crossing the ball to him. Southampton then doubled their lead in the 28th minute, with Kyle Walker-Peters driving into the box from the left before setting up Joe Aribo for a simple tap-in.
Leicester began their comeback in the 65th minute, when Abdul Fatawu's low cross deflected off Facundo Buonanotte and into the net. Less than 10 minutes later, Jamie Vardy levelled the score with a penalty.
In the eighth minute of stoppage time, Jordan Ayew found the winner for Leicester, receiving a pass from Harry Winks at the edge of the box and finishing clinically from a corner. The result leaves Leicester in 13th place with nine points after eight games, while Southampton remain rooted to the bottom of the table, winless with just one point from eight matches, and having conceded 18 goals—the second highest in the league.
A more detailed look at what happened on a dramatic afternoon in Southampton
Before the match, minds once again travelled back in time to Leicester's 9-0 thrashing of Southampton back in 2019. So many things have changed for the clubs since then, with both having suffered a relegation in 2023.
For this match though, they were desperate for an important to kick-start their campaigns. The Leicester manager Steve Cooper was starting to feeling the heat from his own fans and the scoreline after a dismal first half saw the Foxes overrun at St Mary’s.
Whether it was an admission he had got it wrong or not, Cooper deserves credit for reacting to the desperate situation, making the changes that altered the course of a superbly entertaining game.
Harry Winks came on for Oliver Skipp at half-time to bring some order to a midfield where Leicester lacked control, but the real masterstroke was bringing on Fatawu – although many of a Foxes persuasion had questioned before kick-off why he was not starting.
Fatawu was definitely the key player in that incredible second-half. One well-known Leicester supporting pundit said: "I'd love to know why he isn't starting but he is still making a fantastic contribution to the team."
Even Roy Cropper was delighted with the result.
One Southampton fan responds: "We looked fantastic going forward at times..."
I spoke to one Southampton after the match who was really annoyed thag his side didn't even take a point. He told us: "We were taking advantage of Leicester City's defensive shortcomings inside the box, and managed to score two really good goals.
"To see it all fall apart again was really annoying. I'm not sure who's more to blame, the manager for not seeing the collapse coming, or the players themselves."
You can see from the video below that the Southampton boss wasn't happy with how his side lost the game.
Russell Martin reflects on a painful late defeat:
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) October 19, 2024
