The truth still out there for Puel
HAVING come out fighting in his press conference on Friday, Claude Puel could really have done with a result to make his blows land.
Instead, his team followed up FA Cup defeat at League Two side Newport County with a loss to Southampton that undermined his demands for critics to face ‘the truth’.
Puel said it was wrong for people to expect more than what he is producing but this was another performance to file in the folder marked confusing.
Against 10 men for more than half the contest, Leicester failed to create much and, by the end, Southampton deserved a victory that lifts them clear of the relegation zone.
Ralph Hasenhuttl came with a plan and though it was disrupted by Yan Valery’s dismissal in the first half, his players stuck to their tasks.
Jannik Vestergaard, in particular, revelled in repelling
Leicester’s crosses and Shane Long enjoyed his role stretching the opposition defence.
Southampton have now collected 10 points from their last six Premier League games and, at the final whistle, Hasenhuttl marched over to the jubilant away fans, took off his cap and bowed.
For Leicester, it was a third home league defeat out of four and wins over Chelsea and Manchester City are already fading into the rear-view mirror.
Puel was on the brink before those matches and, while this result against the club who
sacked him in 2017 is not expected to prove crucial, there were loud boos at full-time.
Even before the game an elderly lady wearing a Leicester hat held up a piece of A4 paper with ‘Puel Out’ written on, until a steward deemed it an item to confiscate.
Leicester may have been seventh in the table but Puel’s safety-first strategy can leave fans dissatisfied and his line-up here was cautious.
He picked a midfield of Hamza Choudhury, Nampalys Mendy and Wilfred Ndidi against a Southampton side shorn of Charlie Austin and Danny Ings.
Southampton’s tactic was to play on the counter and they went ahead in the 10th minute.
Long turned to meet a bouncing ball and Mendy wrapped an arm around him just inside the box.
It was silly and Long took the invitation to go down. Kasper Schmeichel got hands to James
Ward-Prowse’s penalty but the shot was too strong.
Southampton’s job was made harder just before the break. Valery was booked following a bad foul on Ben Chilwell.
From James Maddison’s freekick Wes Morgan poked towards goal but Jan Bednarek swept off the line.
Valery then tugged down Marc Albrighton and referee Michael Oliver had every right to show a second yellow.
But, on the stroke of half-time, Southampton doubled their lead. Alex McCarthy hit a long clearance towards Long, who made himself a nuisance.
Ricardo Pereira got his header badly wrong and Mendy then underhit a back-pass.
Long was clear on a tight angle and aimed to lift his finish into the far corner. The shot was probably heading just wide until Schmeichel, in an effort to save, diverted the ball into the corner with his left hand. Leicester put
together a neat move to pull one back. Maddison and Demarai Gray were involved before Ricardo burst to the byline and pulled back a cross that Ndidi just about bundled in.
But as much as Leicester tried, they lacked guile, resorting too frequently to shots from long range, and Southampton held on.
Hasenhuttl said: ‘I am really proud of the commitment we showed. It was a very long time to go after the red card. Such wins can be a very big boost for us in the coming weeks.’
Puel said: ‘It’s a big disappointment, we wanted to respond. The players were, before the game, perhaps a little too nervous.’
LEICESTER (4-3-3): Schmeichel 6; Ricardo 6, Morgan 6.5, Maguire 6.5, Chilwell 6; Choudhury 6 (Ghezzal 77min), Mendy 4 (Barnes 46, 6), Ndidi 6.5; Albrighton 6 (Gray 46, 6), Vardy 6, Maddison 6. Booked: Maddison, Chilwell. Subs (not used): Simpson, Soyuncu, Iheanacho, Ward.
SOUTHAMPTON (3-4-3): McCarthy 7; Bednarek 7.5, Stephens 7, Vestergaard 7.5; Valery 4, Romeu 7, Armstrong 7 (Cedric 57, 6), Targett 7; Ward-Prowse, Long 7.5 (Slattery 76), Redmond 8 (Gallagher 90). Booked: Stephens. Sent off: Valery (45min). Subs (not used): Elyounoussi, Gunn, Sims, Ramsay.
Referee: M Oliver (Northumberland) 8.