Leicester’s Ayoze Pérez scores twice in stroll past deflated Southampton

At the end of a week which Jamie Vardy spent in the contrasting surrounds of the Royal Courts of Justice supporting his wife in the “Wagatha Christie” libel trial, the Leicester striker returned to the day job, proudly pointing to his name on the back of his shirt after scoring the second goal in a comfortable victory.

Vardy clinically finished inside the box and instantly made a beeline for the away supporters, who had earlier taken great pleasure in singing “Rooney”. Goals by James Maddison and Ayoze Pérez bookended the scoring, with James Ward-Prowse’s second-half penalty a consolation as the visitors ended the season with a fourth straight defeat.

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For Leicester, a comprehensive victory was enough to secure eighth at the end of a testing season. It felt almost fitting that Jon Moss’s final game as a Premier League referee was embroiled in controversy, after a drop-ball deep inside Leicester’s half ended with Maddison tucking in the opener after Vardy saw his shot saved by the Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy.

Kasper Schmeichel walloped a kick downfield after receiving the ball from Wesley Fofana after Moss invited the ball to be played back to Leicester following a collision between Oriol Romeu and Vardy, the former fending the striker off. Lyanco failed to deal with Schmeichel’s direct kick and Maddison was on hand to score the rebound after Vardy’s initial effort was saved by McCarthy. Southampton protested in vain.

Vardy’s neat finish arrived after he steamrollered forward to latch on to a pass by Harvey Barnes, who broke forward from inside his own half. Vardy chopped inside Lyanco and drilled a shot inside McCarthy’s near post. Youri Tielemans, on possibly his final Leicester appearance, fouled Stuart Armstrong inside the box to present Ward-Prowse with the chance to pull a goal back but Pérez struck twice to cap the scoring, stabbing in Maddison’s pass at the back post before sweeping the substitute Ricardo Pereira’s cross into the roof of the net in stoppage time.

Southampton’s season, which has flatlined since February, ended with a whimper. Nathan Redmond saw a tame header saved by Schmeichel and his strike partner, Adam Armstrong, was withdrawn shortly after a bloody clash of heads with Jonny Evans.

The Chelsea loanee Armando Broja travelled with the Southampton team but was left out of the matchday squad, one of three changes from defeat to Liverpool in midweek with Ralph Hasenhüttl preferring to start players who will definitely start next season with the club. For Southampton, a promising season turned into a slog.