Leicester City kicked off Matchweek 10 with a 9-0 rout of Southampton at St.Mary’s on Friday night as the Foxes registered their sixth league victory of the campaign to move up to 3rd place in the standings.
Hat-tricks from Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez coupled with goals from Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison helped the Foxes put a listless Southampton to the sword and set a new record for margin of away victories in the 131-year history of the Premier League.
With the Saints down to ten men early in the game following the red-card incident involving Ryan Bertrand, Leicester City took full advantage of the numerical advantage and went into the interval with a five-goal advantage before Perez and Vardy both completed their hat-tricks to inflict the worst-ever Premier League defeat on Southampton.
Well, it was total carnage from Brendan Rodgers’ men and it took Leicester’s goal tally in the Premier League to 25, just behind the likes of Liverpool and Man City in that regard.
From a broader perspective, however, it was not only about the Foxes’ unrivalled dominance on the night but it was a clear reminder that Leicester mean business this season.
The Foxes had been tipped by many to break the established top-six order in the Premier League prior to the start of the ongoing campaign and it has to be said that the 9-0 rout of Southampton away from home on Matchday 10 was a massive statement night for Rodgers.
That’s not to say that Leicester had not lived up to the hype in the previous weeks but what unfolded on Friday should be enough to set the cat amongst the pigeons in the dugouts of their nearest rivals – Chelsea, Arsenal and Man United.
The Foxes’ top-six credentials had been called into question in the wake of their defeats at the hands of Man United and Liverpool, but the emphatic 9-0 victory should go a long way towards silencing their critics.
While Chelsea have undoubtedly managed to turn the screws after a slow start to life under Frank Lampard, Arsenal have blown hot and cold. Man United, on the other hand, have been quite shocking and well below par this term.
To that end, the Foxes have looked like a well-oiled unit under the stewardship of Rodgers and they already have a lot of positives to take from their start to the campaign, with the carnage at St. Mary’s being a clear reflection of how devastating Leicester City can be when they are at their sparkling best.
Ayoze Perez endured a lacklustre start to his time at the King Power Stadium following his big-money move from Newcastle in the summer but the Spaniard showed exactly why the Foxes had spent millions of pounds to bring him to the club.
A perfect blend of footballing intelligence coupled with some good technical skills and the uncanny nous to pop up in the right positions to deliver goals and assists – attributes which had made him a player to watch out for at Newcastle, were very much on display during the 9-0 victory.
Vardy continued his merry way and took his tally to 9 goals in 10 Premier League games for the season, with the former England international once again proving his worth as a bonafide goal scorer in English football.
Chilwell impressed with a goal and two assists while the creative cavalry spearheaded by Maddison and Tielemans also wreaked havoc to punish some horrendous defending from the home side.
Defensively, the likes of Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu were once again spot-on as they have been in almost every game this season.
Much to the pleasure of Rodgers, it wasn’t a night that witnessed some individual masterclass from Maddison or Vardy but the 9-0 rout of the Saints was more a result of some wonderful all-round displays from almost all the players on the pitch.
With Perez now starting to hit the ground running, Soyuncu perfectly filling the void left by the departure of Maguire, Vardy firing on all cylinders and the likes of Tielemans and Maddison continuing to torment defences with their creativity, Leicester definitely look like the real deal in the Premier League this season.
Plus, of course, Leicester City have got two of the best full-backs in the division, Chilwell and Pereira, who have already illustrated their ability to turn games in favour of the Foxes with some impressive link-up play further up the pitch.
Suffice to say, Leicester’s top-six credentials look a lot stronger after a complete demolition of Southampton on Matchday 10 and they have already set some lofty standards for themselves to emulate later on in the season.
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To conclude, this Leicester City side led by the charismatic Brendan Rodgers definitely has the winning mentality and the self-belief to turn the top-six tables in the Premier League this term.