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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 back in the attacking role in midfield. He wasn’t utilized as well as he should have been. Marti Cifuentes sacrificed him again to use Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks.
This never became more than a black day of horror. Seeing Olebade Aluko’s actions after just 5 minutes raises questions. These questions should be addressed directly to Marti Cifuentes. How has he prepared this youngster for his first ever start in a Leicester team? Seeing what he did in that situation shows how ill-prepared he was. He made a joke about yellowing so high up in the field, without any threat.
Then the horror started at 18 minutes. Abdul Fatawu has now fallen several times. You start to wonder if he’s being told to do that. His actions gave Southampton the lead and counterattacked. Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ goal was clearly offside. However, there were enough Leicester players in that area to block the header.
Leicester could have equalized just minutes later, but Jordan James’ header was well saved by the Southampton goalkeeper.
In the 23rd minute it was time again. Southampton benefited from a new counter. Finn Azaz got free and hammered the ball into the net from close range. Leicester are 2-0 behind.
A defeat against Southampton.#SOULEI | @BCGame pic.twitter.com/xtNIcNE3qj
— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 25, 2025
In the 33rd minute, Olabade Aluko is back in another fight. He should have walked away from this with a clear head. He gets his second yellow and then red. The question is whether Marti should have taken him out earlier, just to avoid playing with ten men. Aluko had a difficult day. Was he really ready to get his first team opportunity against someone like Bobby De-Cordova Reid? Ricardo Pereira’s absence isn’t really documented at this point.
Leicester looked like a dead ship in the ocean with 10 men. Leicester were attacked again. Taylor Harwood-Bellis found the net with a brilliant header. This match was over, 3-0 for Southampton after the first half.
The second half was a disciplined and good half from Leicester, playing 0-0, 10 against 11. Marti Cifuentes makes his substitutions. Jordan Ayew, Silko Thomas, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Bouba Soumare and Louis Page all came on.
Some of the blame for this afternoon’s dismal result can be attributed to two unfortunate situations. A very poor referee with inattentive linesmen also contributed to the result. However, Leicester’s players should also be blamed. The young debutant in particular did not meet expectations for an important match. We also believe that this was a very sad day for Marti Cifuentes. He never really achieved a goal with his attitude. Of course he’s completely wrong again.
Next up is Sheffield United at home. It’s a must for Marti and his players. Then Leicester has to solve a number of problems. Of course it’s good to have a match so close. Leicester are facing a team that plays tomorrow, so there is one day less rest.
- Positives
- To see how the bench was fully utilized when the match was truly lost
- The first 15 minutes of the match
- Wout Faes comes close early with a shot
- Jordan James’ header well saved by the Southampton goalkeeper
- Second half, giving Southampton no chance to score more
- Negatives
- Olabade Aluko is not yet ready for his first start, his preparations and actions look very strange
- Marti Cifuentes completely missed choosing this formation, defensively it was a disaster
- Hamza Choudhury, just standing still and playing the ball backwards, terrible play
- This is far from acceptable for a Leicester team, terrible performance, 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
- Leicester City, man of the match
Match statistics (H/A)
- Possession: 61/39
- Shots on target: 8/2
- Corners: 11 / 3
- Errors: 13 / 8
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