- Leicester have picked up 18 points since 4 April
- Matty James taken off on stretcher with knee injury
- Leicester run-in against Sunderland (A) & QPR (H)
- Hard to fathom form change, says Pearson
Riyad Mahrez hit an early brace as Leicester City took another step towards Premier League safety with victory over lacklustre Southampton.
The Algerian forward found the net with a low drive on seven minutes and soon doubled his tally when turning home Jamie Vardy’s pull-back.
The Foxes have won six of their last seven games and are now three points clear of danger with two to play.
Southampton are without a win in four matches but stay in seventh.
Fresh from being named manager of the month, it was a bullish Nigel Pearson that led his players into battle against a team with just one point to show from their last five away games.
Five wins from six is title-winning form and unsurprisingly the Foxes started like a train.
Mahrez picked up the ball in midfield and was allowed to set off on a dangerous run to the edge of the box where he took aim and fired low beyond Paulo Gazzaniga, who was making his first start of the season.
Leicester’s joy was punctured minutes later when midfielder Matty James appeared to get his foot caught in the turf as he tracked Ryan Bertrand.
A lengthy delay followed as he was treated for an apparent knee injury before being taken off on a stretcher.
But the hosts soon had another reason to cheer as they doubled their lead on 19 minutes.
Leonardo Ulloa’s flick-on found the the always busy Vardy, who pulled the ball back for Mahrez to poke in number two.
Ronald Koeman has expressed his unhappiness at the way his Southampton players have failed to perform at the tail end of the season, having once been considered contenders for a Champions League berth.
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Just four wins in 13 games coming into this match was a clear indication of waning confidence, and the manager will not have been impressed with their response to going two goals behind.
Vardy might have made it three before the break as Southampton failed to seriously threaten in the first 45 minutes.
The half-time break did little to galvanise the visitors, who laboured to break down a Leicester defence boasting clean sheets in three of their last four games and expertly marshalled by the commanding Robert Huth.
Sadio Mane’s shot from distance with 20 minutes left finally forced Kasper Schmeichel into meaningful action, the Leicester goalkeeper showing good agility to tip the ball away.
Esteban Cambiasso, whose vast experience has been so crucial to Leicester’s late-season revival, had home fans on their feet moments later with a low drive that just flashed wide, ruffling the side-netting as it went.
Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson: “It transpires that we needed the run we have had to give ourselves a chance. When you get to Christmas with the position we were in we were hoping we’d get to the final day with it still being in our hands. We have had a fantastic run but have work to do.
“The fans stuck with us, they’ve seen enough to suggest we’ve got performances in us. This run’s been phenomenal really.”
Southampton manager Ronald Koeman: “If you start the game and you know the opponent is fighting against relegation you can expect they are aggressive and we weren’t in the beginning. It’s difficult to explain. “Everybody is hungry for European football because it’s a great achievement and still we are in that situation, we have to react and change our mentality.”
Source: BBC News
