MADD FOR IT
Southgate in stands sees Foxes star is the real deal
SHAKE on it – poker-loving James Maddison showed Gareth Southgate he has a very good hand.
Maddison proved again that he does not need a full house when the man he really wants to impress is on one of the seats.
Southgate braved the chill to sit in the stands and even he must have been chuckling behind his mask as the silky midfielder enjoyed a classy goal celebration with ‘pretend’ handshakes to his sociallydistanced team-mates.
The goal was an absolute beauty and one which must surely convince England manager Southgate it is time to bring Maddison in from the cold.
The 24-year-old has been limited to just one substitute appearance for the Three Lions and at times he has not done himself any favours.
He was pictured in a casino on the night he pulled out of the international squad because he was too unwell to play.
Maddison went public with his disappointment at being omitted for the games against Belgium and Iceland in November.
He is convinced he is good enough and if he can just get Southgate’s full backing he should be laughing.
Maddison certainly brought a smile to proceedings with his
celebration after his stunning 38th-minute goal which forced the door open against the resolute Southampton.
He latched on to a Youri Tielemans ball and smashed it
in from a seemingly impossible angle. The Foxes added a stoppage-time goal from Harvey Barnes, another England contender, to stay right in the title mix. Maddison is happy to spread the joy, revealing: “Footballers get a lot of stick and it’s nice to put a lighter note on it. I don’t think you will find one person in the country who wants football to stop.
“I hope Gareth Southgate had his mask on! It’s nice to have him here. I want more international football, I’ve had a taste.
“If little things like that are what we need to keep football going then so be it. We’ve been told to stop gatherings of people and I tried to make it light-hearted.”
It was a bit tough on injury-hit Saints, who battled and forced Kasper Schmeichel to make a string of fine saves.
Manager Ralph Hasenhuttl said: “I’m proud of my team. It was the maximum we could have given.”
Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers gets ready for tomorrow night’s clash with Chelsea desperate for his side not to slip away on the final run-in like last time around.
They still finished an admirable fifth but surrendered a Champions League spot on the final day. Rodgers said: “I think we’re a better team now a year on. The biggest common denominator in why we dropped off last season was that we were missing our best players. I think we will learn from that.”
Schmeichel 8; Castagne 7, Fofana 7 (Soyuncu 53, 6), Evans 8, Justin 7; Tielemans 8, Ndidi 7; Albrighton 7, Barnes 7, Maddison 8 (Perez 76); Vardy 7 (Iheanacho 90). Maddison 38, Barnes 90.