Riyad Mahrez sparkles as Leicester cruise to win at Southampton

This time Southampton should be grateful for Claude Puel’s restraint. The Frenchman could have cackled heartily after this win but decided not to take leave of his manners. His team had already made his point in thoroughly satisfying fashion anyway, staging a masterclass in sharp attacking at the expense of the club who sacked him six months ago partly on the grounds that his style was boring. The boos at the final whistle could be translated as English for “touché”.

Puel, determined not to rub his revenge in those faces, said: “Of course it was a strange feeling to come back here but it was nice to see familiar faces. My feeling was always to keep positive with Southampton. I kept a good relationship with a lot of people here. I tried to give my best when I was here and we had some fantastic games and developed some players. For me it was a great introduction to the Premier League and all this work perhaps allowed me to become a better manager.”

The boos were also a denunciation of Southampton’s ineptitude and they spell trouble for Mauricio Pellegrino. Rather than deliver more thrills, the Argentinian has served up inferior results to the ones Puel produced during his season on the south coast and a lower goals-per-game average. Leicester are eighth in the table which, funnily enough, is the position to which Puel led Southampton last season in addition to guiding them to their first major final for 14 years. Southampton are eight points below Puel’s side and fretting about the possibility of sinking lower.

“I have to say sorry to our fans because you can lose games but not in this way,” said Pellegrino, who said his side’s haplessness came as a shock after the weekend’s encouraging draw with Arsenal. “This performance surprised everybody. It was not about tactics or a technical problem, we were really bad from beginning to end.”

That was slightly harsh. Because Southampton started as if intent on proving their attacking capability and they made a convincing case for about two minutes. A couple of corners put the visitors in early difficulty, with Maya Yoshida nearly forcing the ball over the line from one. But then Leicester took over.

Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring in the 10th minute, firing a low shot into the net from 25 yards. It was his fourth goal since the appointment of Puel and his gleaming play here was not confined to goal-scoring, as he teased his opponents with beguiling runs and cunning passes. Soon after the Algerian’s goal Shinji Okazaki attempted a cover version but Southampton’s goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, was back on song. When Okazaki beat the goalkeeper in the 22nd minute, Mario Lemina whacked the ball off the line.

Not until the half-hour did Southampton’s lone striker, Charlie Austin, get a sniff but Kasper Schmeichel batted his shot from the edge of the area. Leicester raced down the other end and almost scored, Forster denying Jamie Vardy. Mahrez pulled the ensuing corner to the edge of the box where Christian Fuchs met it with a thumping volley. Forster parried the shot but Okazaki poked in the rebound. “Boring, boring Leicester,” chanted the away fans, followed by the mocking inquiry: “Are you glad you sacked Puel?”

Moments later those fans were celebrating again as the home defence folded in the face of a routine free-kick lofted into the box by Mahrez. Harry Maguire took it down on his chest and teed up Andy King, who was free to tap in from close range.

Pellegrino, knowing he had to do something to save face and perhaps also his job, switched to a two-pronged attack for the second half, replacing Oriol Romeu with Manolo Gabbiadini. But Leicester continued to tear through their hosts.

Eventually Southampton stammered a retort when Yoshida headed in from a corner by Ryan Bertrand. They nearly cut the deficit further but Schmeichel saved well from Austin. Soon Leicester settled the argument, with witless abetting from the hosts. Mahrez pounced on a sloppy pass and released Vardy, whose cross was turned into the net by Okazaki. The final whistle was met with Southampton fans venting their dismay. This time that must have been music to Puel’s ears.