Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship match between Leicester City and Southampton at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night | Abdul Fatawu scores a hat-trick as the Foxes move to within one win of promotion
22:44, United Kingdom, Tuesday 23 April 2024
Leicester beat Southampton 5-0 to move within one win of promotion to the Premier League.
A hat-trick from Abdul Fatawu along with goals from Wilfried Ndidi and Jamie Vardy proved more than enough to see off the poor Saints at the King Power Stadium.
Leicester now know that a win at Preston next Monday night – live Sky Sports Football – will be enough to guarantee their return to the Premier League.
For the Saints, the loss doesom them to the playoffs. They are six points behind second-placed Leeds with a significantly lower goal difference and just two games to play.
As at the top
Key games of the weekend, all live Sky Sports:
- QPR vs Leeds (Fri 20:00)
- Hull vs Ipswich (Saturday 20:00)
- Preston vs Leicester (Mon 8pm) – A win for Leicester now guarantees promotion no matter what happens elsewhere beforehand.
Fatawu stars as a Leicester cruise in King Power
Abdul Fatawu gets a second for Leicester in stunning fashion.
The breakthrough for Leicester came in the 25th minute. Wout Faes won the ball behind Che Adams and Harry Winks flicked the ball forward to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who fed Fattau with an accurate pass into the box, who calmly slid the ball past Alex McCarthy.
Southampton manager Russell Martin was not happy, believing Adams was fouled in the build-up and then Fatau was offside, but the goal was awarded.
Jamie Vardy and Abdul Fatou capped a rampant display for Leicester.
The Saints came out strong after half-time, but it was Leicester who struck next. Just after the hour mark they won the ball high up the pitch and Steffi Mavididi crossed for Didi to head home.
Fatawu then got his second with a superb effort from the edge of the box, cutting in from the right and then bending one past McCarthy. He then set up Vardy for Leicester’s fourth as his low cross was met by the striker, who swept in at the near post.
And the night’s scoring was capped off with flair by Fatau, who headed home Vardy’s cross after a quick counter-attack had opened Southampton up.
Maresca: I never doubted us
Leicester City manager Enzo Maresca says the side will not be caught off guard as they need just one win to secure promotion to the Premier League.
Leicester’s Enzo Maresca:
“I said that since we started they’ve been fantastic in how they’ve been open-minded to learning different ideas.
“We’re almost there, we need one win to be 100 per cent sure, so we enjoy tonight and have two days off and then start preparing for Preston.
“I said many times that I had no doubt that we would finish [the season] the right way. Sometimes you can lose points like it happened with us. But even when we have lost points, the performances have always been there.
“I always said the noise was more from outside. Inside the club I supported the team and the team supported me. We always carried on in the same way.”
Martin: Crazy that game ended 5-0 | “The defense was pathetic”
Southampton manager Russell Martin bemoans his side’s “passive” defending as they lost 5-0 to Leicester City.
Southampton’s Russell Martin:
“It was crazy to finish 5-0. For so long in the game I thought we were pretty good.
“But we’re not ruthless and they are. It can’t come down to what it came down to next [the second goal]. To finish 5-0 is really crazy.
“It was offside, but that’s not why we’re losing 5-0. Of course it gives them the advantage in the game. The foul was very simple for a referee. He went in from Che’s back to get the ball. But sometimes they’re given a few sometimes they don’t give.
“We started the second half well but defended pathetically after going two goals down.
“Players who want to fight and care more and run more will play.”