Leicester City vs Southampton report: Hosts on verge of promotion

Leicester City appeared to almost completely fall apart in their season just 11 days ago. However, they are now incredibly close to returning to the Premier League.

Enzo Maresca only requires a solitary victory, or for Leeds United to lose, to achieve automatic promotion from the Championship in his initial attempt.

The exultant spectators at the King Power Stadium cheered on Leicester City as they made their comeback, playing with the style reminiscent of Enzo's football.

On April 12th, during their game against Plymouth Argyle, it seemed almost unreal that Leicester suffered their sixth loss in only 10 matches. This caused many to worry that they might experience a sudden and unexpected downfall.

Despite strong opposition, Abdul Fatawu's hat-trick secured a resounding victory, increasing their chances of being promoted. If Leeds loses to Queens Park Rangers on Friday night, their promotion is almost certain.

Maresca stated that the season has been lengthy and they are aware that one victory will lead to promotion. Their main goal is to achieve promotion and it is irrelevant whether they finish first or second.

"I don't believe that was the most outstanding presentation we've had this season, but we felt satisfied at the conclusion."

Leicester has high hopes of becoming champions, but Southampton's chances of ending up in the top two are now slim to none after a poor showing that guarantees them a spot in the play-offs.

In order to maintain their chances of automatically being promoted, Southampton required a victory but they performed terribly which put enormous stress on their coach, Russell Martin. Although they still have a chance to play a crucial role in the regular season by playing against Leeds on the last day, this defeat was a humbling lesson. Southampton didn't even manage to have one successful shot on goal throughout the entire match.

Martin expressed that he is not responsible for comforting the players and making them feel better after tonight's events. He believes that they should experience the same emotions of sadness and discomfort that he is feeling.

The group that competes from this moment onward will be one that shows loyalty to each other. I was not impressed with my team's performance when we were behind 2-0. It caught me off-guard and I expressed my disapproval to them. The supporters deserve more and we must provide them with a better showing when we face Stoke on Saturday.

Maresca has consistently maintained that this captivating battle for promotion will be decided in the very end.

Even though they've had a bit of a slump lately, they've shown impressive steadiness and some of the soccer played was exceptional.

While Leicester's chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha watched from the directors' box, the team won their 30th match out of 44. The club has been charged with breaking financial rules by the Premier League, which may lead to uncertain times in the future, but for now, their priority has always been to achieve promotion.

Leicester went into the game with 91 points, a total that in the last six seasons would have guaranteed them a top-two spot. They put a lot of pressure on Southampton's goal from the outset, with their captain Jamie Vardy, who is 37 years old, delivering one of his trademark annoying displays.

After 25 minutes, Leicester scored their first goal which was impressively executed and demonstrated excellent Enzo-Ball techniques.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was released from the pressure 40 yards away from the opponent's goal and then sent a great pass to Fatawu. The latter swiftly directed the ball towards the corner of the net, leaving no chance for Alex McCarthy to block it.

In the second half, Leicester increased their pace and scored again in the 62nd minute, widening the gap between them and their opponents.

Stephy Mavididi sent a pass from the left side high into the air, allowing Wilfred Ndidi to have an open area to hit the ball into the goal with his head.

Fatawu, who was on loan from Sporting, scored the third goal with a skillful curled shot that caused a large number of Southampton fans to leave the stadium.

Vardy quickly seized the opportunity to score from a short distance, while Fatawu added a finishing touch to the game with his three goals.

The supporters of Leicester shouted, "We desire nine," which referred to their victory over Southampton in October 2019 in the Premier League. However, they were satisfied with this outcome.