Maguire’s Injury-Time Effort Wins It For City
For the clash on the south coast, Claude Puel made three changes to the side that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend, as Wes Morgan, Daniel Amartey and Kelechi Iheanacho all started the game.
After a lively opening period, stopper Kasper Schmeichel had to make the first save of the game, denying Mohamed Elyounoussi at the front post on 17 minutes.
Towering Saints centre-back Jannik Vestergaard then headed wide, while at the other end, Demarai Gray couldn’t quite turn Ben Chilwell’s deflected cross into the back of the net.
Schmeichel pulled off another fine stop just before the break as Danny Ings turned in the area before his low strike was flicked away by the Denmark international.
The hosts took the lead seven minutes into the second period, as the ball fell to Ryan Bertrand 20 yards from goal. The left-back’s well-struck effort found the top corner to give Southampton a 1-0 lead.
City pressed for an equaliser and got one four minutes later, when after some good work from Iheanacho, Gray slammed home from inside the area.
With 13 minutes to play, the Saints went down to 10 men as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was shown a second yellow card for simulation inside the Leicester box.
Sensing an opportunity to win the game, Chilwell raced forward down the left wing and forced Southampton ‘keeper Alex McCarthy into a good stop at the front post.
However, City did not give up, as Maguire burst forward and unleashed a low drive from the edge of the box. The ball hit the back of the net and the England international raced over to the Blue Army to celebrate his winner.
Major moment
Deep into injury time, the Foxes needed something special to seal their second consecutive win in the Premier League.
Up stepped Harry Maguire, who after a brilliant FIFA World Cup campaign with England, has returned to the Club in impressive form.
The defender’s 20 yard-effort beat Alex McCarthy to make it two wins from three games in 2018/19 for City.
Who impressed?
Academy graduate Ben Chilwell proved to be a menace for Portugal international right-back Cédric on Saturday afternoon.
His combination of attacking play and fine defensive work saw him put in a brilliant performance against Southampton attackers Shane Long and Danny Ings.
Where do we stand?
The Foxes move from eighth to seventh in the Premier League table following their late victory over Southampton. They have accumulated six points from their first three 2018/19 fixtures.
Coming up…
City’s Premier League campaign now takes a brief pause as they contest a Carabao Cup Second Round encounter with Fleetwood Town at King Power Stadium on Tuesday evening (7:45pm BST kick-off).