Leicester City have moved to within four wins of the Premier League title courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Southampton at the King Power Stadium this afternoon.
Captain Wes Morgan got what proved to be the winning goal late in the first half for the Foxes as they recorded a fourth straight 1-0 victory to move seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
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It was the Foxes who made the brighter start to the match, enjoying some success down the flanks, but clear chances were hard to come by for the hosts, with an early Christian Fuchs header the closest they came.
Indeed, it was Southampton who created the best chance of the opening half-hour when Graziano Pelle steered a header towards the top corner from just inside the area, only to see it drift narrowly over the crossbar.
That sparked a period of control for the visitors, who should have taken the lead just three minutes later when Sadio Mane was released clean through on goal and took the ball around Kasper Schmeichel, only for Danny Simpson to get back and block his effort in front of an open goal.
Jose Fonte was the next to come close as he unleashed a swerving effort towards the top corner from 30 yards, but Schmeichel made an important one-handed stop to turn it over.
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The resulting corner eventually led to another shooting chance when Jordy Clasie fired over from just outside the box, and they were soon made to rue those missed opportunities when Leicester took the lead against the run of play.
It was the skipper Morgan who got the goal, connecting with an inch-perfect cross from Fuchs and steering his header in off the post past a statuesque Fraser Forster.
A second goal very nearly arrived just past the hour mark when Fonte's attempted interception from a Danny Drinkwater cross saw him loop the ball over his own goalkeeper, but Forster reacted to bat it away from underneath his own crossbar.
The England international came to the rescue once again with just under 20 minutes remaining when Drinkwater and Vardy combined to create a sitter for Simpson, only for the full-back to put the ball straight at Forster with the rest of the goal gaping.
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The tension continued to rise at the King Power Stadium as the clock ticked on, but still Leicester went in search of a second goal, with both Riyad Mahrez and Drinkwater having long-range efforts.
It was Forster who was keeping Southampton in the game, however, and he made another crucial save to deny Jamie Vardy with just five minutes remaining after the Leicester striker had been played in down the right channel by Marc Albrighton.
Leicester eventually turned their focus from getting a second goal to protecting their lead, and even five minutes of added time failed to dampen the atmosphere inside the King Power as the hosts held on for a fourth win and a fourth clean sheet on the bounce.
They now lead Spurs by seven points and Arsenal by 11 heading into their final six games of the season, while Southampton remain four points adrift of fifth-placed West Ham United.
Barney Corkhill
