By Nurudeen Obalola
Super Eagles midfielder Joe Aribo scored his first English Premier League goal of the season on Saturday but it was not enough to earn Southampton their first victory of the campaign as they lost 3-2 to Leicester City at St Mary’s after going 2-0 up.
Also on Saturday, Manchester United halted a dismal run as they came from behind to beat Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford, while there were away wins for Aston Villa, Brighton and Everton.
Nigeria international Aribo put Southampton 2-0 up in the 28th minute with a crisp finish from inside the Leicester City box, adding to Cameron Archer’s opening strike 20 minutes earlier.
Leicester City responded after the break, with Facundo Buonanotte pulling one back in the 64th minute, nine minutes before Southampton were reduced to 10 men with the sending off of Ryan Feaser for a professional foul.
The punishment for Fraser was a red card and penalty, and veteran striker Jamie Vardy converted the spot kick to bring Leicester City level.
Ghana striker Jordan Ayew struck the dramatic winner for Leicester City in the eighth minute of stoppage time as the visitors earned their second win of the campaign to rise to 13th in the table, leaving their hosts bottom.
Aribo’s Super Eagles teammate Wilfred Ndidi played the full game for Leicester City but could not add to his impressive four assists.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United secured their first win in six matches in all competitions, as Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund struck in the second half to cancel out Ethan Pinnock’s first-half added-time goal for Brentford.
The victory would ease some of the pressure on United’s under-fire manager Erik ten Hag as the Red Devils won for the first time in the league since they beat Southampton 3-0 at St Mary’s on September 14.
At Craven Cottage, Super Eagles stars Calvin Bassey and Alex Iwobi were in full-time action as their 10-man Fulham side lost 3-1 to Aston Villa.
Alex Pereira missed a penalty after Raul Jimenez gave Fulham the lead in the fifth minute, and the hosts would rue that miss as Morgan Rodgers, Ollie Watkins and an Issa Diop own goal gave Villa all the points, with Joachim Andersen sent off.
Everton defeated Ipswich Town 2-0 at Portman Road to continue their upward trajectory after a dismal start to the campaign, while Danny Welbeck scored the only goal of the game as Brighton won 1-0 at Newcastle United.
RESULTS
Southampton 2-3 Leicester City
Ipswich 0-2 Everton
Manchester United 2-1 Brentford
Newcastle United 0-1 Brighton
Fulham 1-3 Aston Villa
