Southampton 1-4 Leicester City: 3 Foxes positives and negatives

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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach Enzo Maresca of Leicester City laughs during the Sky Bet Championship match between Southampton FC and Leicester City at Friends Provident St. Mary’s Stadium on September 15, 2023 in Southampton, England. (Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images) /

Abdul Fatawu and Kelechi Iheanacho helped to stretch and already extended home side, while Hamza Choudhury was brought on to help stifle any momentum they may have garnered. Patson Daka, who Maresca says is now in his plans, didn’t even make it off the bench, speaking volumes about the numbers at the manager’s disposal.

Negative: Communication errors still happening

On paper, a 4-1 win against a promotion rival would seem comfortable, and Friday night’s triumph really was, but it was clear to see that the ‘Enzo Way’ as affectionately described by the Foxes faithful is still very much a work in progress. It wasn’t just Callum Doyle’s inexplicable leave of the ball that highlighted that there’s more work to be done; there were examples of City players not being on the same wavelength when playing out from the back in both halves.

Next. Southampton 1-4 Leicester: 3 things learned. dark

Positive: Ability to pick teams apart

Deep into stoppage time, Wilfred Ndidi polished off an incredible 33-pass move to put the Foxes 3-1 ahead and crush any designs Saints had on getting an equaliser before the break. Throughout this sequence, nearly all of the City players were involved, and Southampton were exposed by the crisp, yet patient movement of the ball across the field. Friday was the first enormous test against a promotion rival, and to see the Foxes go toe-to-toe with Southampton on their own patch and brush them aside so comfortably at their own game will be incredibly satisfying.