Defensive mistakes continue as Saints concede thrice despite taking a 2-0 lead

Southampton prepared to face Championship winners Leicester City as the first of their three important Premier League matches after the international break. While Leicester City were coming on the back of a winning momentum, the Saints were expected to learn from their previous mistakes and bring a good result in front of their home fans. 

Manager Russell Martin made only one lineup change as expected, with Cameron Archer returning to the starting lineup in Ross Stewart's absence. Archer uplifted his momentum with a brilliant goal against Arsenal, and continued his goalscoring form as he found the back of the net inside ten minutes against Leicester City. Martin assessed Steve Cooper's tactics before the match which made it clear that the Saints can score multiple goals if they constantly bring the ball near the Leicester City box. 

This was evident in the first goal, as Ryan Manning found some space on the left flank and laid a perfect pass towards Cameron Archer, who took another composed finish to again give Southampton the 1-0 lead. Russell Martin’s side continued their good momentum and twenty minutes later, Kyle Walker-Peters gave a similar pass to Joe Aribo, who doubled Southampton’s lead within the first half an hour. 

Defensive mistakes continue as Saints concede thrice despite taking a 2-0 lead

Southampton were taking advantage of Leicester City's defensive shortcomings inside the box, and managed to score two goals in a match for the first time in the Premier League. The Saints kept their 2-0 lead going into half-time, and looked convincing to secure their first league win. However, right-back Yukinari Sugawara picked up an injury around the hour mark and this became the turning point in the match. 

Although Southampton had Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Manning to play on both sides of the defence, Russell Martin made a surprising substitution to bring Ryan Fraser on the right flank. Despite playing a good role as a second half substitute in the Championship, Fraser hasn't been reliable either in midfield or in the defence this season. Minutes after the substitution, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku dribbled Fraser down the right-wing and gave a key pass to Facundo Buonanotte, who scored his second consecutive goal for the visitors. 

Fatawu Issahaku scored a hat-trick against Southampton last season, thus Russell Martin’s side were expected to keep Fatawu Issahaku from advancing near the Southampton box. However, that wasn't the case and ten minutes later, Fatawu Issahaku again attempted another key pass from the right flank, but Fraser brought Jamie Vardy down and gave away an important penalty. 

Moreover, Fraser received a red card as well, and Southampton had to play with ten players for the remaining fifteen minutes of the match. Vardy equalised for Leicester City from the penalty, and the home side gave away their 2-0 lead inside ten minutes. Manager Russell Martin aimed to take a draw from this match, but Leicester City forward Jordan Ayew took a long-range attempt on goal which found the back of the net. 

With that last-minute goal, Southampton faced another Premier League defeat despite taking the lead in back-to-back league fixtures. A large section of the Southampton fans were left unimpressed with their team’s second half performance as well as Martin’s substitute decisions. Southampton are now bottom-placed in the league table, and there are increasing speculations of a managerial change in the upcoming weeks.