{"id":24256,"date":"2021-12-01T17:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-01T22:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24256"},"modified":"2021-12-03T10:03:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-03T15:03:43","slug":"maddison-on-the-scoreboard-as-saints-hold-foxes-at-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=24256","title":{"rendered":"Maddison On The Scoreboard As Saints Hold Foxes At Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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James Maddison equalized for Leicester (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

James Maddison scored for the third successive game as Leicester twice came from behind to salvage a 2-2 Premier League draw at Southampton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In-form Maddison conjured a moment of magic early in the second period but the Foxes squandered golden chances to complete a comeback success on the south coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamie Vardy blazed over when through on goal, while Harvey Barnes was denied by a fine save from home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Jonny Evans had initially fired the visitors level, in between first-half goals from Saints duo Jan Bednarek and Che Adams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brendan Rodgers\u2019 men have fallen agonizingly short of Champions League qualification in the past two seasons and cracking the top four this term already looks a tall order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A point at St Mary\u2019s was sufficient to move to eighth but left them with just one win from five as their inconsistent form continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southampton, meanwhile, hold a five-point buffer on the relegation zone after scoring more than once in a top-flight fixture for only the third time this campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl reacted to Saturday\u2019s 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool by recalling Kyle Walker-Peters, Nathan Tella and Nathan Redmond, while the visitors stuck with an unchanged 20-man squad following a 4-2 win over Watford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leicester fans were back at the ground for the first time since a record-breaking 9-0 win in October 2019 and took little time to mock the hosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But chants of \u2018Who put the ball in Southampton\u2019s net? Half the f****** team did\u2019 were silenced inside three minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tella and James Ward-Prowse worked a short corner on the left and, after Foxes keeper Kasper Schmeichel saved Mohammed Salisu\u2019s initial effort, Bednarek scuffed the rebound into the bottom right corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leicester were not behind for long and their 22nd-minute equalizer had hallmarks of the opener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time Saints keeper McCarthy could not keep hold of a stinging shot from Wilfred Ndidi following good wing play from Maddison and Evans thumped home the loose ball. The emphatic finish was the defender\u2019s first goal since equalizing in a 1-1 draw here in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Southampton regained the lead 11 minutes before the break, benefiting from some incredibly slack Leicester defending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a partially-cleared corner, Redmond was given time to pick out a cross from the right and the unmarked Adams sent a diving header into the far corner from just outside the six-yard box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kick-off for the second half was delayed by around 15 minutes after a fan required medical treatment in the Kingsland Stand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saints had a golden chance to double their advantage less than a minute after the restart when the unmarked Tella headed high and wide after being picked out by Ward-Prowse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That miss looked even more costly just three minutes later as Maddison continued his purple patch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The creative midfielder collected the ball from Luke Thomas inside Southampton\u2019s crowded 18-yard box and expertly cut inside the sliding Tino Livramento before lashing past McCarthy at the near post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leicester should probably have gone on to take all three points but were denied by a combination of exceptional goalkeeping and uncharacteristic profligacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, McCarthy somehow kept his side level by superbly tipping wide from Barnes in the 71st minute, although a possible handball in the build up may have ruled it out anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vardy should then have won it with 15 minutes to go. The Foxes talisman was sent clear after a Walker-Peters back pass clipped team-mate Salisu but, with most inside the ground waiting for the net to bulge, the former England man smashed over.<\/p>\n

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