Jamie Carragher picks out Leicester City’s ‘obvious’ choice as new relegation verdict given

The former Liverpool and England defender has been analysing Jordan Ayew’s 98th-minute match-winning goal and what it means for the Premier League relegation battle

 

Leicester City have already opened up a “gulf” to Southampton that will be difficult for the Saints to overturn, former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher believes.

 

City’s last-gasp victory at St Mary’s on Saturday means there’s now eight points between the sides. Steve Cooper’s men sit 14th on nine points, while Southampton languish in 19th with just a solitary point to their name so far. For Carragher, that’s significant, even just eight games in.

Indeed, Opta’s latest projections give City a 28 per cent chance of being relegated. Meanwhile, their data believes Southampton have a 96 per cent likelihood of returning to the Championship.

“That is a massive result for Leicester at this early stage,” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “That creates an eight-point gulf between the two teams. Southampton are one point at the bottom, they’re now on nine points. That’s a huge gap to make up if you’re Southampton.”

 

Carragher was analysing City’s winning goal, with Jordan Ayew meeting Harry Winks’ corner and squeezing a shot into the bottom corner. He felt Southampton’s poor marking, with all of their players in the six-yard box and none on the edge of the box made the choice “obvious” for the City midfielder.

“It’s Harry Winks on the ball, a right-footer, it’s going to be an out-swinger,” Carragher said. “It’s going to be very difficult for him to get the ball in there (the six-yard box). It’s always going to come away from the goal.

 

“This has not been worked on. He actually comes backwards onto the ball, Ayew. Normally you’d want someone coming onto the ball. But it’s obvious. As players, at times you don’t need a set-piece coach. That’s where the space is, that’s obvious, whip it in, and they get the result.”

 

After the match, Cooper confirmed that Winks’ corner was not a set-piece routine, but just quick thinking from the midfielder. Asked if the move had been worked on, Cooper said: “(Set-piece coach) Andrew Hughes will say so! I felt we should have scored off a couple of set-plays in the first half. We missed some good chances. But I think that it was instinctive decision-making and it’s one that we’re really grateful for.”