Steve Cooper’s Leicester City produced a thrilling comeback from two goals down to beat relegation rivals Southampton 3-2 at the St. Mary’s Stadium.
The Foxes had a disastrous first half, conceding two goals due to poor marking and offering very little in attack. Abdul Fatawu’s introduction in the second half changed the game. The winger’s involvement led to two goals in the space of ten minutes. With Southampton down to ten men, Leicester pushed on for the winner and got a late goal from Jordan Ayew to seal an unlikely yet exhilarating victory at Southampton.
Here’s how we rated the Leicester City players from the memorable win
Leicester City player ratings vs Southampton
Mads Hermansen – 8
Could do nothing about the two goals but produced a few outstanding saves to keep the Foxes in the game.
James Justin – 5
He was poor defensively, with both goals coming from his flank. Didn’t offer much in attack and should have hit the target with his header in the first half.
Wout Faes – 5
Couldn’t back up his heroics from the last game. His marking was poor, and his long passes didn’t come off. Additionally, he almost scored a dreadful own goal.
Caleb Okoli – 6
Like his centre-back partner, Okoli was poor with his marking. However, he put his strength to good use with his effective shielding.
Victor Kristiansen – 6
Had a decent first half, making some smart passes and winning a few tackles. Southampton’s two-goal lead saw him sacrificed for Fatawu to add more attacking options.
Wilfred Ndidi – 6
The Foxes number six was good defensively but poor with the ball. He had the right ideas but just lacked the execution. Made some nice runs in the second half.
Oliver Skipp – 4
Taken off at halftime after a poor first-half showing. He dallied on the ball and was too safe with his passing.
Bilal El Khannouss – 6
Showed some nice crisp passes in tight spaces and almost produced a moment of magic late in the first half but was denied a first Leicester goal by the post. Unfortunately, he failed to influence the game much and sometimes looked invisible.
Stephy Mavididi – 4
Was terrible for large parts of the game. He gave the ball away too often and just ran into trouble at times. However, he gave a fantastic cross, which eventually led to Leicester’s equaliser.
Jamie Vardy – 6
Got a glimpse of goal a few times but was blocked by the Saints defenders. Delivered when needed with a well-taken penalty.
Facundo Buonanotte – 7
Was Leicester’s brightest spark for the opening 60 minutes. Got a well deserved goal and linked up well with Abdul Fatawu.
Abdul Fatawu – 8
Surely, he must start against Nottingham Forest. Completely changed the game with his directness and was denied a stunner by the crossbar.
Harry Winks – 7
Leicester looked much better with him on the pitch. He crafted the winner with a clever corner in the game’s dying minutes.
Jordan Ayew – 6
His introduction seemed to have been a mistake by Cooper, as he was very poor. However, football is a ‘moments’ game, and Ayew got the winner late into stoppage time to complete the comeback for the Foxes.
Bobby Decordova-Reid – N/A
Came on too late to make an impact.
