Martin saw Southampton cruised 2-0 up through Cameron Archer and Joe Aribo – but again collapsed as Facundo Buonannotte, a Jamie Vardy penalty and Jordan Ayew in the 99th minute earned Leicester a win that had looked hugely unlikely.
Martin had angrily rounded on his team’s critics before the game, inviting them down to the South Coast to discuss things with him, insisting his team were being brave and that it would pay off. He might get some responses after this latest disaster.
Saints’ last win in the Premier League is now a chilling 21 games ago, ironically against Leicester, way back in March 2023. The season before last.
The speculation over Martin’s future will now surely crank up.
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Southampton’s next game sees them visit Manchester City, but following that are two potentially winnable outings, against fellow strugglers Everton and Wolves. If he lasts that long, that future could hang on those matches.
His team could not, in such a crucial game, have got off to a better start, as they flew at Leicester from the off.
Cooper’s team had an escape after only four minutes, as Ryan Manning’s corner was thundered against the bar by Joe Aribo’s header, and City only just managed to scramble the ball away.
Four minutes later though, their sluggish start was duly punished, as Walker-Peters fed Manning on the left, and his low cross was fired home from six yards out by Archer.
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City tried to hit back, but Wout Faes blazed over from a free kick when he should have done better, and then James Justin headed wide from Stephy Mavididi’s cross.
But Leicester could not handle Walker-Peters’ dashes down the left, and when the defender skipped past Justin, he got to the byeline and pulled the ball back for Aribo to slot home a crucial second goal for the Saints.
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Southampton could have had a third when Flynn Downes found space in the box, but goalkeeper Mads Hermansen somehow managed to save with his legs.
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City did though almost get one back against the run of play, when Bilal El Khannouss curled his shot against the inside of the post, but the ball bounced out and Saints survived.
Faes then almost scored a spectacular own goal as his diving header from Fernandes cross was pushed over by Hernansen.
Jamie Vardy had been quiet, and Mateus Fernandes got back to block well when he for once had space, and then Facundo Buonanotte curled an effort just wide.
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At the other end though Tyler Dibling saw his shot saved – but Leicester’s improved display saw them pull one back a minute later, when Abdul Fatawu crossed low and Buonanotte slotted the ball in at the near post.
Saints’ nerves suddenly were showing, and ten minutes later Fatawu’s, curling shot came back off the bar.
Martin’s side did not clear, and when Fatawu’s header at the far post was only half stopped by Aaron Ramsdale, Saints scrambled the ball away – but Ryan Fraser was ruled by VAR to have pulled back Vardy when he was going for the loose ball.
Vardy needed no second invitation to slam home the penalty to haul Leicester level.
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Then deep into stoppage time Harry Winks’ corner fell to Ayew, completely unmarked in the area, and he drilled his shot into the corner of the net.
Rafael Nadal reflected on an “amazing rivalry” with Novak Djokovic and said he “would not be the player he is today” after losing their final meeting as professionals.
Serbia’s Djokovic beat the Spaniard 6-2 7-6 (7-5) in their third-place match at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia.
The pair shared a warm embrace at the net at the end, while Nadal was presented with a golden tennis racquet as part of a post-match presentation in Riyadh.
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“Thank you very much for all of the moments we shared on court during all of our careers – we have had an amazing rivalry,” said Nadal in an interview conducted on court.
“You helped me to go over my limits so thank you for that, because without that, I would probably not be the player that I am today.”
Nadal will represent Spain in his final appearance at next month’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
“What I will miss is almost everything,” added Nadal, who won a record 14 French Open titles and 22 Grand Slams in total.
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“It has been a dream come true to have been able to play for almost 20 years, being competitive and having the chance to play at the best places in the world.
“I realised my dream to become a professional tennis player and be a successful one. I can’t thank people enough for the support and the love I’ve received all around.”
Hughes (13-1) dropped McKee (22-2) early and fended off his grappling en route to a split decision win (29-28, 28-29, 29-28). The lightweight bout was the main card opener at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In Round 1, McKee backed Hughes to a corner with a flurry. Hughes broke free and almost landed a flying knee. McKee grabbed a hold of him and worked for a takedown. Hughes broke free again and threw another big knee. It was clear what McKee’s game plan was as he attempted another takedown. Hughes reversed and wound up in top position. McKee worked for a leg lock. As he got up, Hughes landed a big knee, followed by a big overhand right which dropped McKee.
The pace slowed down in Rounds 2 and 3 as McKee pressed Hughes against the cage. Hughes broke free and threw a flurry. An accidental low blow by McKee caused a break in the action. Hughes attempted a big knee and slipped, allowing McKee to capitalize by grabbing a hold of him and keeping him down. Hughes spent the rest of the fight trying to fend off McKee’s grappling, but he outstruck him throughout and caused more damage for the win.
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With the win, Hughes made it seven straight and proceeded to call out Bellator lightweight champion Usman Nurmagomedov.
BIG WIN FOR BIG NEWS! He CALLS OUT USMAN NURMAGOMEDOV!
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In just his second fight under the PFL banner, Hughes scored a brutal knockdown in the first round over A.J. McKee before ultimately winning a split decision. While there’s something to be said about the scoring in the fight with Hughes largely controlling the action across all three rounds, he still gets the win in the biggest moment of his young career so far.
“Look what I can do! I’m a superstar,” Hughes shouted at the camera after his win. “The PFL believed in me, look at me. I’m here on the world stage. I fought one of the best guys on the planet. I doubled down on myself. Who’s done that to AJ McKee? I’ll tell you what, that was not one of my best performances.”
Hughes showed no fear facing down one of the top lightweights in Bellator as he made a statement from the very start when he was able to shrug off takedown attempts from McKee to keep the fight standing. Hughes also unloaded a huge knee trying to catch McKee as he dropped down to grab a leg but the former Bellator featherweight champion narrowly avoided a potential knockout.
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In a scramble, Hughes actually ended up on top of McKee where he began raining down shots from above while defending a few up kicks coming at him from the bottom. McKee continued to roll and eventually got back to his feet but Hughes made him pay for it just before the first round ended.
With McKee backing up against the cage, Hughes unloaded a massive right hook that landed flush on the jaw. McKee dropped to the canvas just as the bell rang to end the round, potentially saving him from some follow up shots that could have earned Hughes the finish.
Following a minute long recovery between rounds, McKee was a little more reserved with his offense, although he did launch a couple of successful straight punches to get Hughes attention. In return, Hughes clipped McKee with a slick combination but a jumping knee attack backfired as he ended up slipping and falling to the ground.
McKee did his best to take advantage with his grappling but Hughes never gave him anything to work with before he ran out of time.
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With five minutes remaining, McKee once again looked for the takedown as he grabbed onto the body lock and pressed Hughes against the cage. When he wasn’t able to drag the fight to the ground, Hughes broke free and really started launching combinations while McKee was looking like his gas tank was running dry.
Hughes continued to set up his strikes while McKee just couldn’t get much going as time ran out and a new star emerged in the lightweight division.
Following the win, Hughes wasted no time proposing that his third PFL fight come along with some gold on the line.
“We want to see Ireland vs. Dagestan,” Hughes shouted. “We want to see Paul Hughes vs. Usman Nurmagomedov. Let’s go.”
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