Ghanaian and Leicester City’s Forward, Fatawu Issahaku’s hat-trick scored a Hattrick as the Foxes defeated Southampton five-nil at the King Power Stadium as they edge closer to a return to the Premier League.
The Foxes need just one victory from their remaining matches against Preston or Blackburn to secure promotion, with the possibility of sealing their top-flight status as early as Friday should Leeds falter against QPR.
Fatawu opened the scoring for the hosts with a composed finish in the first half, capitalizing on Southampton’s struggles to cope with Leicester’s high pressing and attacking intent. Although Southampton showed improvement immediately after the break, they were unable to contain Leicester’s clinical display. Nigeria’s Wilfred Ndidi’s powerful header extended the Foxes’ lead before Fatawu netted a sensational second goal. He then turned provider for Jamie Vardy’s goal, with the former England striker returning the favor for Fatawu’s hat-trick.
With this victory, Leicester now sits four points clear at the top of the table, firmly on course to reach the 100-point mark. Meanwhile, Southampton, currently in fourth place, still holds a mathematical chance of finishing level on points with second-placed Leeds. However, Daniel Farke’s side maintains a significantly superior goal difference.
Any slip-up by Leeds against QPR on Friday or a win for Ipswich against Hull on Saturday would force Southampton into the playoffs, ending their hopes of securing automatic promotion.