Southampton 3, Leicester 0, positives and negatives, player ratings and match report, Championship fixture

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Marti Cifuentes surprised us all with his two changes in the back four. Luke Thomas was suspended so one change had to be made. Pereira was again placed on the bench, giving starts to Hamza Coudhury and Olebade Aluko.

We had Jordan James playing in the offensive midfield role again. He was not utilized as well as he should have been. Marti Cifuentes again sacrificed him for the use of Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks.

This never became anything more than a black day of horror. Seeing Olebade Aluko’s actions after just 5 minutes, raises questions. These questions must be addressed directly to Marti Cifuentes. How has he prepared this youngster for his first ever start in a Leicester team? To see what he did in that situation reveals how poorly prepared he was. He made a joke out of himself getting yellowed so high in the field without any threat at all.

Then the horror started after 18 minutes. Abdul Fatawu has now fallen over numerous times. You start to wonder if he is told to do so. His actions resulted in Southampton getting on the front foot and the counter. The goal scored by Taylor Harwood-Bellis was a clear offside. However, enough Leicester players were in that area to block the header.

Leicester could have equalied just minutes later, but Jordan James header was saved cleverly by the Southampton goalkeeper.

Then in the 23rd minute it was time again. Southampton capitalized on a new counter. Finn Azaz came free and hammered the ball in the net from close range. Leicester are 2-0 down.

A loss in Southampton.#SOULEI | @BCGame pic.twitter.com/xtNIcNE3qj
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 25, 2025

In the 33rd minute, Olabade Aluko is back in a new fight. With a clear head, he should have stepped away from this one as well. He receives his second yellow, and then a red. The question is, should Marti have picked him off earlier, just to avoid to play with 10 men. Aluko had a difficult day. Was he truly ready to get his first team chance over someone like Bobby De-Cordova Reid? The absence of Ricardo Pereira is not really documented at this point.

Leicester with 10 men looked a dead ship in the ocean. Leicester came under attack again. Taylor Harwood-Bellis found the net with a great header. This game was all over, 3-0 to Southampton after the first half.

Second half was a disciplined and good half from Leicester, playing 0-0, 10 against 11. Marti Cifuentes makes his changes. Jordan Ayew, Silko Thomas, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Bouba Soumare and Louis Page all came on.

Some of the blame for the miserable result this afternoon can be attributed to two unlucky situations. A very bad referee with inattentive linesmen also contributed to the outcome. However, the Leicester players must also be blamed. The young debutant, in particular, did not meet expectations for an important game. We also believe this was a very sad day for Marti Cifuentes. He never really hit any targets with his line-up. Of course, he got it all wrong again.

Next up is Sheffield United at home. It is a must win for Marti and his players. Then Leicester have some issues to solve. Of course, it is good to have a game so close. Leicester are facing a team next that is playing tomorrow, so there is one day less of rest.

Positives
- To see the bench being used in full when the game was in real lost
- The first 15 minutes of the game
- Wout Faes coming close with a shot early on
- Jordan James header cleverly saved by the Southampton goalkeeper
- Second half, not giving Southampton a chance to score more
Negatives
- Olabade Aluko not ready for his first start, his preparations and actions looks very strange
- Marti Cifuentes missed totally when picking this line-up, it was a disaster defensively
- Hamza Choudhury, just standing still and playing the ball backwards, terrible game
- This is far from acceptable from a Leicester team, awful performance, the worst of the season
- Letting in 3 goals, creating very little

Line Up:
Begovic 5, Choudhury 2, Aluko 1, Vestergaard 5, Faes 4, Winks 4, Skipp 3, Daka 3, Mavididi 5, Fatawu 2, James 4 Subs: De Cordova-Reid, Thomas S, Soumare, Ayew, Page