Southampton central defender Dean Richards was sent off in injury time as Leicester completed a comfortable Premiership double over the Saints in the sunshine at The Dell today.

Southampton were already a well-beaten side when Richards clashed with Welsh international Robbie Savage by a corner flag and appeared to kick the Leicester player while he was on the ground.

Referee Mike Reed had no hesitation in brandishing a red card to Richards and then presented a yellow one to Moroccan midfielder Hassan Kachloul for disputing the decision.

It was a sorry end to a below-par match in which Leicester recovered from a shaky start to deservedly take away the three points.

Southampton's fans booed the team for their inept second-half performance in which former Saints goalkeeper Tim Flowers was stretched into serious action only once to turn over a header from Kevin Davies.

It all began brightly enough for Southampton with a goal in the fourth minute through Kachloul, who collected a pass from Stuart Ripley to beat Flowers with a shot deflected in off Frank Sinclair.

Southampton had already missed one good chance by then with Flowers saving from Davies, but Leicester gradually took control and it needed a series of fine saves from deputy goalkeeper Neil Moss to keep them out.

Moss saved well from a free-kick by Matt Elliott and from a close-range half-hit effort by Tony Cottee.

But there was nothing Moss could do in the 22nd minute when Cottee took a pass from Elliott to beat him with a fierce left-foot shot from 15 yards.

Southampton rallied near the interval with Neil Lennon clearing from near the line the header by Jo Tessem, who also got in a fierce 30-yard free-kick which was deflected just over the bar.

Moss continued to make an important contribution for Southampton, saving from Lennon and then again after the interval from Elliott.

So it was a cruel irony that in the 60th minute the goalkeeper should be responsible for Leicester's winner.

Moss attempted to kick clear under pressure but succeeded only in drilling his clearance against the legs of the onrushing Muzzy Izzet and watched in horror as the rebound trickled over the line.

Davies and Chris Marsden were booked for fouls and Southampton introduced Portuguese Under-21 international Danni Rodrigues for his debut in place of the injured Ripley.

Leicester were coasting to victory when Richards was dismissed, leaving manager Glenn Hoddle to contemplate his team's third successive defeat.

Teams:

Southampton: Moss, Dodd, Tahar, Richards, Bridge, Ripley (Rodrigues 57), Tessem, Marsden (Oakley 72), Kachloul, Davies, Pahars.

Subs Not Used: Lundekvam, Soltvedt, Bevan.

Sent Off: Richards (89).

Booked: Tahar, Davies, Marsden, Kachloul.

Goals: Kachloul 4.

Leicester: Flowers, Sinclair, Taggart (Walsh 36), Gilchrist, Impey, Izzet, Savage, Lennon, Guppy, Elliott, Cottee (Eadie 78).

Subs Not Used: Marshall, Arphexad, Oakes.

Goals: Cottee 22, Izzet 60.

Att: 15,178

Ref: M Reed (Birmingham).