Leicester match Premier League record in rout of Southampton
Ayoze Perez and Jamie Vardy hit hat-tricks as rampant Leicester demolished 10-man Southampton 9-0 to equal the biggest win in Premier League history.
Brendan Rodgers’ impressive Foxes registered five first-half goals at St Mary’s en route to inflicting the heaviest defeat in Saints’ 134-year existence and move second in the table.
Strikes from Ben Chilwell, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison completed an astonishing scoreline as City emulated Manchester United’s 9-0 win over Ipswich in March 1995.
It's a hat-trick for Vards – he smashes it in from the spot!
9⃣-0⃣ pic.twitter.com/waGC0LlZII
— Leicester City (@LCFC) October 25, 2019
During a history-making night on the south coast, Saints defender Ryan Bertrand became the first top-flight player sent off following a VAR review after a dangerous lunge at Perez in the build-up to Chilwell’s 10th-minute opener.
The early dismissal undoubtedly had a significant impact on the home side’s fortunes but it could not excuse the embarrassing – and record-breaking – capitulation which followed.
Southampton’s previous worst defeats on home soil were 6-0 reversals to Plymouth in 1931 and Brentford in 1959. The thumping loss also surpassed three 8-0 defeats on the road, the most recent of which came against Everton in 1971.