Leicester City manager Claude Puel has insisted that his side deserved their 2-1 victory over Southampton at St Mary's this afternoon, despite needing a stoppage-time winner to secure all three points.
Harry Maguire clinched the winning goal at the death for the Foxes after Demarai Gray had earlier cancelled out Ryan Bertrand's opener, with Southampton ending the game a man down due to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's red card.
Puel celebrated the late winner by storming onto the pitch against his former club, but he insisted that his reaction had nothing to do with his sacking from the Saints last year.
"No, no, no: nothing about this. Because I have a lot of respect for all the people working at Southampton. It was just about the circumstance of the game, and it was a tough game, difficult to play against this team and we have had good desire and a good reaction to keep our calm and to play the second part of the game and to win this time is a fantastic feeling," he told reporters at his post-match press conference.
"I'm happy for my players, for the fans, to get something. It's justice. I was happy for my players, for the squad, because it was a tough game. I think we played a very good team with strong pressing and quality on the ground.
"We won this game with our mentality, strong spirit and personality. We kept going after conceding the goal. We have good confidence in our play and I'm happy with this. It was fantastic from Harry, he took the space and then had the chance to shoot in the final third. It's perfect, and just in time of course. I'm happy for him and the team, it's a good reward, a tough game. I think it's a good reward, but I think we deserved it."
Leicester will now turn their attention to Tuesday's EFL Cup clash with Fleetwood Town.
Barney Corkhill
