Southampton mock Leicester City on social media after 3-0 defeat at St Mary’s on Tuesday night
On the night, Tonda Eckert’s side played with a swagger that matched the online banter. The interim boss has now taken 12 points from 12 since replacing Will Still, guiding Saints from relegation worries to sniffing at the playoff places.
Leicester, though, unravelled rapidly. The tone of the evening was set early when 19-year-old Bade Aluko — thrown in for his full debut because of injuries and suspension — picked up an early caution after being caught out by Leo Scienza on the break. The young defender looked nervous from the start, and those nerves were punished repeatedly by a Southampton side full of pace and precision.
Wout Faes had already seen a goalbound effort hooked away by Taylor Harwood-Bellis when the centre-back drifted free to head in a superb Ryan Manning free-kick after just 18 minutes. The defender appeared marginally offside, but with no VAR in the Championship, Saints cashed in.
Five minutes later the lead doubled. Manning threaded a risky pass into Adam Armstrong, who improvised beautifully to release Scienza, allowing Finn Azaz to finish another blistering counter-attack. Leicester looked shell-shocked, unable to cope with the movement or intensity of the hosts.
Aluko’s nightmare worsened on 33 minutes. Caught on the wrong side of Tom Fellows, he hauled down the wing-back and received a clear second yellow. His debut was over before half-time, and the teenager walked off visibly heartbroken as Leicester reshuffled with Oliver Skipp filling in at left-back.
Things deteriorated even further before the break. Manning delivered yet another vicious set-piece and Harwood-Bellis powered in his second header of the night, outmanoeuvring Faes with ease and putting the result far beyond doubt.
Cifuentes made a double change at the break, even withdrawing his two biggest threats — Stephy Mavididi and Abdul Fatawu — in what felt like a concession. Leicester failed to register a single shot in the entire second half, their last effort having come from Jordan James in the 19th minute.
Southampton, meanwhile, continued to push. Asmir Begović was forced into more saves, Armstrong threatened twice, and Scienza bent another effort goalward. The only blemish for Saints was Flynn Downes picking up a fifth booking, earning a suspension for the weekend.
By the final whistle, Eckert had secured a fourth straight win — something no Southampton manager has done at the start of their tenure since World War II. The night belonged entirely to the home side.
Southampton didn’t just beat Leicester City on the pitch — they rubbed it in online. After a ruthless 3-0 win at St Mary’s, Saints’ official X account fired off a cheeky post: “We’ve finally beaten Leicester” alongside an “Absolute Cinema” graphic, a clear dig at a fixture they had failed to win in four previous attempts.
And they made sure everyone knew it — especially Leicester — with that jab on social media, capping off a brutal evening both on and off the pitch for the Foxes.