Southampton vs Leicester City LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction
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Carlos Alcaraz grabbed the only goal as Southampton beat Leicester City 1-0 at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday to move off the bottom of the table with their second Premier League win in three matches under new manager Ruben Selles.
The win moves Southampton up to 19th on 21 points from 25 games, ahead of Bournemouth, who were beaten by Arsenal earlier on Saturday. Leicester remain in 15th.
Southampton started strongly and their pressure told when Timothy Castagne handled the ball in the 31st minute to give away a penalty. James Ward-Prowse stepped up to take the spotkick, but his well-struck effort was saved by Danny Ward.
Carlos Alcaraz opened the scoring for the hosts in the 34th minute, calmly slotting his effort into the bottom corner past Ward after being played through by Che Adams. There was an anxious wait for a VAR check and a huge roar when the goal.
Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho was a nuisance throughout, but he missed a string of chances, the best of which came in the 49th minute, when he failed to hit the target with a free header from six yards out.
Brendan Rodgers brought on Jamie Vardy as the visitors pressed and probed for an equaliser in the second half and Harry Souttar rattled the crossbar with a header in added time, but Southampton held on to claim their first home win since August.
Southampton vs Leicester City
Thanks for joining us for live coverage of Southampton's 1-0 Premier League win over Leicester City at St Mary's Stadium.
Southampton vs Leicester City
It is another deeply concerning result for Leicester and Rodgers, who watched his team fail to have a shot on target despite trailing from the 35th minute onwards. They remain just three points above the relegation zone and will need to quickly end this run of three straight Premier League defeats if they are to stave off relegation. For Southampton, that win moves them off the foot of the table and to within a point of safety. They clearly still have much work to do, but that victory could be the catalyst to them securing their place in the top-flight next season.
Southampton vs Leicester City
Southampton earn a massive victory in their fight against the drop after Alcaraz's goal and some resilient defending sees them pick up just a second home league win of the season. Saints saw a huge opportunity to take the lead go by when Ward-Prowse's penalty was saved by Ward, but they did go ahead moments later when Alcaraz fired into the bottom left corner after Adams' throughball. Iheanacho missed a golden opportunity to equalise when he headed wide, before Souttar's header hit the bar in the dying seconds as Southampton saw out the game for three massive points.
Southampton vs Leicester City
Off the bar!!! The corner is initially headed away, but the ball is recycled and worked back out to Maddison. The Foxes' captain arrows a delivery into the box, and Souttar is there to meet it. The centre-back gets a header away at goal, but his effort crashes agonisingly off the bar and flies behind for a goal-kick. That should be that, but what a late let-off for the hosts!
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