Jordan Ayew’s last-gasp winner denied 10-man Southampton their first Premier League win of the season as Leicester City pulled off a stunning comeback to win 3-2 at St Mary’s Stadium.
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Cameron Archer had opened the scoring for the hosts on eight minutes before Joe Aribo slotted home the second to double the lead 20 minutes later.
But Facundo Buonanotte got Leicester back into the tie in the 64th minute before Ryan Fraser saw red and conceded a penalty, which Jamie Vardy scored.
Ayew then completed the turnaround in the 8th minute of second-half stoppage time, driving a low shot into the bottom corner to seal a second consecutive win for Leicester.
Southampton are bottom of the table after failing to hold onto a point, while the Foxes move up to 14th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
17 | -1 | 22 |
| 14 |
West Ham
WHU
|
17 | -8 | 20 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
16 | -7 | 16 |
| 16 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
17 | -8 | 16 |
| 17 |
Leicester
LEI
|
17 | -16 | 14 |
| 18 |
Wolves
WOL
|
17 | -13 | 12 |
| 19 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
17 | -16 | 12 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
17 | -25 | 6 |
How the match unfolded
Southampton had already hit the bar through Aribo before Ryan Manning’s deflected cross found Archer in the centre of the box, and he helped it past Mads Hermansen eight minutes in.
Kyle Walker-Peters orchestrated their second goal shortly after, cutting it back from the byline to Aribo, who side-footed it into the back of the net.
Bilal El Khannouss almost responded just before half-time, receiving the ball with his back to goal, but his curling shot towards the far corner rattled the inside of the post.
Leicester’s lifeline came through substitute Abdul Fatawu, who ghosted his way to the byline before setting up Buonanotte to bundle it into the net.
The 74th minute brought further drama as the visitors asked for a penalty for a shirt pull on Vardy, and it was awarded following a VAR review, with Fraser also receiving a straight red card for the foul.
Vardy emphatically fired it in from the spot, before Harry Winks picked out an unmarked Ayew from a corner, and he coolly slotted it home.
Walker-Peters offers a glimmer of hope at St. Mary’s
In a stadium you might forgive for being subdued after picking up just one point in their opening seven matches, Southampton fans showed no such reserve.
St. Mary’s was bouncing at kick-off despite their side’s predicament and, in the first half at least, the players repaid such faith, no one more so than Walker-Peters.
He was pivotal in both first-half goals, forming a partnership with Manning down the left that Leicester simply could not contain.
His driving run in behind showed great composure to create the space for his left-wing partner, drawing the Leicester defenders to him for the first goal.
The 27-year-old earned a more direct involvement in the second, dragging it to the byline himself before picking out the perfect angle for the cutback and putting it on a plate for Aribo.
He could have had a second assist on the stroke of half-time – he drove down the left side once more before completing a series of elaborate stepovers befitting a player oozing with confidence. This time, he opted to cut back for Manning, who fired over.
By the final whistle, however, any jubilation or confidence had dissipated.
Resurgent Foxes show grit
The visitors started their visit to St Mary’s with a limp display, looking like a team nowhere close to the pace of a Premier League match.
Leicester were routinely carved open and looked vulnerable on every Southampton attack and particularly struggled to protect against the threat of the hosts’ left side.
Yet Steve Cooper’s men slowly built their way back into the match as El Khannouss gave a warning to Southampton when he rattled the post.
The Foxes looked a different animal after the break. Once Buonanotte had secured their first goal, confidence soared with an equaliser in reach.
Fatawu exemplified such an attitude when he unleashed a stunning shot from range that rattled the crossbar in the 71st minute, going millimetres away from an equaliser.
Their second goal came just minutes later, peppering the box and forcing Aaron Ramsdale into a superb save before the penalty incident.
In the end, it was innovation rather than tenacity that earned their winner as Winks spotted an unmarked Ayew at a corner, and he made no mistake with his chance.
Club reports
Southampton report | Leicester report
What managers said
Russel Martin: "I think the sending off changes the game. We started the game so well, the second half so well, their goal came out of nothing. Then Ryan gets sent off and the game becomes really difficult.
"I thought we were better in the start of the second half then the end of the first half. We didn't take our chances to get the third goal. Then someone gets sent off and it changes the whole context."
Steve Cooper: "At half-time it was about belief and sticking together and really believing that the game wasn't over. In the second half, we showed our quality, we showed our aggression in the game, and completely controlled the second half and looked like the team who were going to score and score again.
"In the end, the way that you win hopefully becomes a memorable day for the team, the staff and most importantly the supporters."
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Key facts
Southampton have now gone 21 matches without a win in the Premier League (D5 L16), their outright longest winless streak in top-flight history.
Leicester City won after being 2+ goals down at half-time in a Premier League game for the first time ever, drawing seven and losing 56 of the previous 63 matches where they found themselves two down at the break.
Since they returned to the Premier League in 2012-13 after a seven-season gap, Southampton have dropped 231 points from leading positions in the Premier League, more than any other side in that time.
Jordan Ayew’s winner, on ninety-seven minutes and 34 seconds, was Leicester’s latest Premier League winner on record (since 2006-07) and the latest winner Southampton ever conceded in the competition on record.
