In a show of passion, resilience and endeavour, Southampton held on to a narrow 2-1 victory over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, despite playing with 10 men for the entirety of the second half.
The home side came into the match having recently claimed the scalps of Everton, Manchester City and Chelsea and former Southampton manager Claude Puel would have been confident about completing the double this season over his old club . The Saints have improved significantly since Ralph Hasenhuttl’s appointment, epitomised by a gutsy performance at Stamford Bridge in their previous league fixture.
After storming into the lead after just 11 minutes, the away team doubled their lead on the stroke of half time, despite Yan Valery earning Southampton’s third red card of the season. However, the Foxes pulled a goal back around the hour mark through Wilfred Ndidi, leading to a nervy final third for the visitors.
Ultimately, the Southampton were able to hold on to their precarious lead, supported by a brilliant rearguard performance from their defence. Hasenhuttl can be rightly proud of the spirit shown by his players as the team climbed out of the bottom three. Here is what we can take away from the game.