Leicester 5-0 Southampton: Three Talking Points
By Arnav Bhatia
Promotion in Sight
Leicester City’s emphatic 5 - 0 win against Southampton at the King Power Stadium would have eased the nerves of fans and players alike. Despite promotion looking a certainty for the Foxes at one point, a dreadful slump in form cast some doubts over it.
This victory leaves Leicester just a win away from a return to the Premier League. However, a Leeds United loss against Queen’s Park Rangers would confirm the Foxes’ promotion,
Thriving against Adventurous Opponents
In the past few weeks, Leicester have struggled against teams who deploy the low block against them with the players lacking that extra bit of creativity required to break open the tight defenses.
However, the Foxes thrive against teams who don’t sit back and instead come at them, ruthlessly exploiting the pockets of space created when the opposition push numbers forward. This was perfectly demonstrated in the win against Southampton.
The Saints desperately needed a victory to keep them in the race for automatic promotion but their offensive approach saw them get dismantled by the home team who took full advantage of the spaces left behind. The fifth goal in particular was a wonderful display of Leicester’s counter attacking ability.
This bodes well with Leicester’s impending promotion as Premier League oppositions are likely to adopt an offensive stance against the Foxes.
Dominant Display
This was one of the most dominating displays by Leicester this season. While Southampton recorded a possession of 66% against the Foxes, the highest by any opposition against LCFC, they barely had anything to show for it.
While the attackers deserve all the praise directed towards them, the defenders should also get recognition for an authoritative display at the back. Southampton have scored the joint second highest number of goals this season with 85. The Foxes backline restricted them to just seven shots, of which none were on target.
Missing chances has become a worrisome habit for Leicester of late but they were at their clinical best against the Saints. LCFC converted all of their four big chances in the game. The last time the Foxes converted all of their big chances in a game was back in early March against Hull City.