An assured Albrighton performance as Leicester defeat Southampton

Leicester secured a promising victory over Southampton on Saturday courtesy of a goal in each half from James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.

Despite not getting on the scoresheet, Marc Albrighton produced a tidy display which may have gone under the radar of those watching from home.

Following an extremely quiet start to the game, Albrighton’s first real feel of the ball came in the 19th minute. 

The wide player gained possession on the right-hand side of the Saints’ penalty area before his slick cut-back took both Jack Stephens and Ryan Bertrand out of the game.

The 31-year-old had looked to tee up Jamie Vardy, but the striker had other ideas, letting the ball run through to Barnes who saw his attempt saved well by Southampton shot-stopper Alex McCarthy.

A minute later, there may have been a few concerned looks from the Leicester bench as Albrighton stayed down following a challenge from Saints youngster William Smallbone. Fortunately, he was able to dust himself off and carry on.

The Foxes’ number 11 then tried and failed with a flurry of crossing attempts with little over ten minutes remaining until half-time. His first attempt, the victim of a Vardy miss kick, fell straight to the opposition with his second attempt being blocked almost instantly.

A moment later, the hosts had taken the lead. Youri Tielemans’ cushioned through ball was met by Maddison, the England hopeful held off Stephens before firing his effort into the top right-hand corner from a tight angle leaving McCarthy helpless. 

Albrighton continued to prove a nuisance to the Southampton backline as he drew a foul from Ibrahima Diallo just outside the Saints’ box in the 44th minute. The resulting free-kick amounting to nothing on this occasion.

Shortly after, the Leicester man made an uncharacteristically late challenge on Ryan Bertrand as the full-back was looking to mount a counter-attack. The offence saw him booked just before referee Stuart Atwell blew for half-time.

The second half started slowly to say the least with the next notable moment being produced by the away side’s Stuart Armstrong after 72 minutes. The Scotsman did well to evade the pressure applied by Wilfred Ndidi before unleashing a fierce attempt that rattled the crossbar.

The hosts could have doubled their lead just three minutes later as Barnes, who is currently in fantastic form, witnessed Jan Bednarek adjust well to prevent his goalbound effort from crossing the line.

You might have expected Leicester to start putting men behind the ball when the game entered into its final ten minutes, remarkably they did the exact opposite. 

With five minutes of normal time remaining, Vardy burst into the penalty area, his close control of the ball fooled Stephens seconds before he took aim from close range. The scoreline remained 1-0, however, as McCarthy impressively made a crucial save. 

Another chance went missing in the 89th minute as Albrighton placed the ball on a plate for Ndidi just shy of the penalty area. The Nigerian failed to hit the target as his shot flew over the bar.

Eventually, the Foxes pinched their second goal right at the death. Stephens’ pass was easily intercepted by Tielemans, who then shrugged off a weak challenge from the 26-year-old before striding into Southampton’s half.

With only James Ward-Prowse and Bednarek back to cover for the Saints, it was there on two situation as Tielemans played Barnes through on goal.

The former West Bromwich Albion loanee had Ndidi in support to his right but opted to go alone as he finished past the onrushing McCarthy, scoring his tenth goal of the campaign and sealing the victory for Leicester in the process.

Saturday’s result means the Foxes are a step closer to disrupting the Premier League hierarchy, remaining well within the top four as we edge closer to the halfway point of the season.

For Southampton, the defeat is a setback but surely not enough to derail the side’s European ambitions. How they react to the defeat could be telling as to how the rest of their season will unfold.

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