Jamie Vardy continues to write his own headlines and the story underneath them is pretty good too. The former non-League striker turned Barclays Premier League top scorer brought his goal tally for the season to nine with two more at St Mary’s, his sixth successive league match on the scoresheet.
He has scored more league goals in 2015-16 than Liverpool, West Bromwich Albion, Watford, Stoke City, Aston Villa or Sunderland. With all that, and two more appearances for England, Vardy might be excused an increase in hat size. But the modest forward gave credit to his team-mates for their assists, Claudio Ranieri, the manager, for the half-time substitutions that turned the match and even the supporters whose noisy backing seldom faltered. “It is nothing to do with me, really,” he said. “It is a team game. As long as Leicester keep getting points, that’s all that matters.”
At the moment, though, it is everything to do with him. The former Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town forward is a one-man cutting edge. He headed Leicester back into a match that should have been beyond them after 66 minutes, then scooped an excellent chance over the bar with his left foot but still came back for more, powering home a right-foot equaliser in stoppage time.
Ranieri’s latest need to tinker at half-time was required by his team’s lamentable defending of set plays, free headers leading to goals by Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk. “We had a lot of players on international duty, Leicester didn’t,” Fonte said. “We weren’t fresh enough after 55 minutes. It’s hard but it’s something that we need to learn from.”
RATINGS
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Southampton (4-1-4-1): K Davis 5 — Cedric 6 (sub: M Yoshida 60min, 5), J Fonte 6, V Van Dijk 6, R Bertrand 6 — V Wanyama 6 — S Mané 6, J Ward-Prowse 7, S Davis 6 (sub: J Clasie 60, 4), D Tadic 5 (sub: J Rodriguez 75) – G Pellè 5. Substitutes not used: P Gazzaniga, O Romeu, Juanmi, S Caulker. Booked: Wanyama, Bertrand.
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): K Schmeichel 6 — D Simpson 6, W Morgan 6, R Huth 6, C Fuchs 7 — D Drinkwater 7, N Kante 6 — M Albrighton 5, S Okazaki 5 (sub: N Dyer 46min, 7), J Schlupp 6 (sub: R Mahrez 46, 7) — J Vardy 8. Substitutes not used: M Schwarzer, R de Laet, A King, Y Benalouane, G Inler.
Referee: P Tierney. Attendance: 30,966.