Southampton's superb resurgence under interim boss Tonda Eckert rolled on with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Leicester City, secured by a Taylor Harwood-Bellis brace and another Finn Azaz goal against a Foxes side reduced to 10 men. Harwood-Bellis twice headed in from Ryan Manning set-pieces and Azaz finished a flowing counter-attack in a ruthless first half that also brought a red card for 19-year-old full-back Olabade Aluko. Southampton's fourth consecutive Championship win moved them to within two points of the promotion places and above Leicester on goal difference. For Marti Cifuentes' inconsistent side it was a damaging night that dropped them three places to 13th in the table.
The outcome was effectively decided by half-time, with Saints three goals to the good and in complete control after Aluko's dismissal on 33 minutes. Eckert's team, who had been only three points off the relegation zone when he took charge, have now matched in four games the number of league wins they managed between the start of last season and Will Still's sacking, underlining the scale of the turnaround. Leicester, meanwhile, failed to build on recent victories over Norwich and Stoke and once again missed the chance to record back-to-back away wins for the first time since February 2024.
Eckert's Saints Sustain a Remarkable Turnaround
Eckert, appointed as Southampton's under-21s coach in the summer and promoted to caretaker at the start of November, has transformed both results and mood in a remarkably short period. Successive victories over QPR, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton had already taken Saints from three points off the relegation zone to the fringes of the promotion picture, and this emphatic win over Leicester further reinforced the impression of a team accelerating in the right direction.