Frustrating home loss… Report by Simon Mack

Leicester City 1 Southampton 2

11^th January 2020 3pm

King Power Stadium

Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl said he’s used his sides 9-0 thrashing at the hands of the foxes back at St Mary’s in October as a catalyst to jump start his team’s season and boy what a rejuvenated saints side city faced today.

Brendan Rodgers named a more familiar formation and starting eleven for the match with the defensive 4 that foxes fans have been used to seeing this season and Hamza Choudhury in front of them as cover in replacement for the injured Wilfred Ndidi. Across the middle Perez, Barnes and Maddison were likely choices with only the inclusion of Dennis Praet for Youri Tielemans a surprise choice whilst Jamie Vardy offered the attacking threat.

Early on it was Southampton that looked the brightest attacking in numbers and testing captain Kasper Scheichel more than once in the city goal. And it was from just such an attack that the foxes took the lead. As city won the ball back on the edge of their own box the ball was rapidly fed to Ayonze Perez who was fouled mid-way into his own half. The quick thinking Spaniard sprang to his feet and took the free kick quickly playing a lovely long pass left to a forward rushing Jamie Vardy on the left flank. The foxes top scorer hurried along the left wing and as he drifted toward the saint’s box spotted an inrushing Dennis Praet centrally in the box and Vardy played the Belgian in on goal with a beautifully weighted ball that allowed Praet to smash the ball home to give city an against the run of play lead.

From that point on the game continued in the same vein as it had before with a bright and positive Southampton side making regular forays into the city final 3^rd, and when Leicester did get the ball back they looked disjointed and wasteful and ultimately it was errors of judgement from the foxes eleven that gifted the saints all 3 points.

Southampton were level just 5 minutes after city had taken the lead as Shane Long’s cross box pass found Stuart Armstrong and the midfielder’s shot was defected past a helpless Kasper Schmeichel by James Maddison who turned his back on the Scottish international’s strike.

The superb Danny Ings hit the bar twice before the break for the saints and was unlucky to not give his side the lead and when the second half got underway things did not improve for the foxes.

Despite city gaffer Rodgers introducing Kelechi Iheanacho and Demari Gray for Harvey Barnes and Ayonze Perez respectively the tide of the game did not alter and Caglar Soyuchi hacked Shane Long down in the box as the Irishman was clear through on goal and only a VAR overturning offside ruling saved Schmeichel from facing a penalty kick.

In the end it was Danny Ings that decided the match. Ben Chilwell’s poor pass afforded the ball back to Southampton deep in the city half and Ings was fed through with only Schmeichel to beat and despite the Dane getting a leg to the resulting shot the ball found the back of the net.

As the game’s final throws ensued Schmeichel’s superb reflex hand save denied Ings a clincher and from a laser beam James Maddison free kick Jonny Evans thought he had got the home side a draw but VAR showed his advances to be clearly offside and the goal was chalked off; Game over 2-1 saints.

Post-match Brendan Rodgers lamented his charges wastefulness with the ball during the defeat and went on to say that despite his attempts to chance the system and personnel to help his side find a way to build up some pressure and rectify the balance of the game his side failed to make the impression he’d hoped for.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s eyes were wide as he talked to the media about his side’s superb performance and this was a stark contrast from the catastrophe of a showing back in the autumn at St Marys. Southampton were positive and bright whilst Leicester City looked uncharacteristically insecure at the back whilst wayward in their forward forays. Brendan Rodgers has shuffled his pack on numerous occasions of late in an attempt to rest his tiring stars through a congested period and maybe the constant changing of his starting eleven has lead to the loss of a little momentum? In addition the build from the back passing game full of tireless running from the likes of Chilwell, Ricardo, Maddison and Tielemans etc might just be catching up with some of his players as one of the smaller squads in the Premier League tires under the breathless pace of the games and associated mental demands. In the past when teams such as Southampton have come to play expansive football the foxes have taken them apart with the space afforded by the oppositions forward numbers but today whilst  those opportunities were there to be had (and not taking anything from the saints superb performance) a ‘better’ more joined up and energised Leicester City would have put them to the sword. A last but by no means least comment on the match is just how much did we miss Wildred Ndidi’s superb break up play and rapid and intelligent ability to get the foxes back on track and going in the right direction? In my opinion hugely, and whilst Choudhury was fantastic midweek against Villa today he was not that man.

It’s difficult to find a man of the match within a selection of below par performances today but if I was pressed to select one it would be Dennis Praet who was passionate and committed in the challenge and at times creative with his passing, and it was his vision and drive that put him in the right place to allow Vardy to feed him to score.

Not a good day all in all but still a great season and still I am sure some better days are to be had before the season is out. We were hopeful of top 6 in August and now we will be disappointed if our boys don’t achieve top four and that should not be forgotten.

watch the match Highlights here…!