Iheanacho bags assist as Leicester City hold Southampton

Kelechi Iheanacho provided an assist as Leicester City played out a 1-1 draw with Southampton in Friday’s Premier League game.

The Nigeria international has been in fine form for the Foxes this season and against the Saints, he was handed his 12th league start and shone.

The forward paired Jamie Vardy in Leicester’s attack and set up the only goal for his side in the encounter to ensure they extended their unbeaten run to four games.

The Foxes had a slow start in the match with Southampton dominating the opening 10 minutes and could have opened the scoring as early as the eighth minute.

Anglo-Nigerian Nathan Tella fired a fine shot at goal but goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was at the right place at the right time, saving the effort with ease.

The Saints then suffered a blow in the 10th minute when they were reduced to 10 men after Jannik Vestergaard was shown a straight red card for tackling Vardy from behind.

Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl replaced Tella in the 15th minute for Ghana international Mohammed Salisu following the one-man deficit. 

Both sides continued to push for the opening goal and Iheanacho’s compatriot Wilfred Ndidi made two key passes but his efforts were not well utilized. 

The Saints then broke the deadlock in the 61st minute when James Ward-Prowse converted from the penalty spot after Iheanacho was adjudged to have handled the ball in his area.

The Super Eagles striker made amends for his error when he set up Jonny Evans to level proceedings in the 68th minute with a fine header.

Iheanacho featured for the duration of the game along with his compatriot Ndidi, who made one tackle and won three aerial contests as part of his contribution in the encounter.

The Nigeria attacker has now scored 17 goals and provided seven assists in 34 appearances across all competitions this season.

With the draw, Brendan Rodgers’ men remain in third spot on the Premier League table after gathering 63 points from 34 games.

Iheanacho will hope to continue his impressive performances when Leicester take on Newcastle United in their next league game on May 7.