TEN-MAN Southampton threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 with fellow promoted side Leicester City on Saturday.

Substitute Jordan Ayew squeezed past Aaron Ramsdale at the near post from a corner in the seventh of seven additional minutes.

Facundo Buonanotte pulled one back for the Foxes before Jamie Vardy levelled from the spot after Ryan Fraser was shown a straight red card.

VAR adjudged the substitute to have pulled Vardy back, preventing him from scoring, as Ryan Manning cleared off the line.

First-half goals from Cameron Archer and Joe Aribo had Southampton 2-0 up at the break but they could not hold on for a first win of the Premier League season.

Russell Martin played down suggestions this was a 'six-pointer' during the week, insisting every game in the Premier League is "huge".

Saints lost both games against Enzo Maresca's Foxes in the Championship last season with an aggregate score of 9-1.

Martin's record against current Leicester boss Steve Cooper did not make for good pre-game reading either - he lost his two games with a combined score of 9-2.

The boss made one change from the side that lost 3-1 at Arsenal last time out, Archer coming in for the injured Ross Stewart.

Deadline day loan signing Max Cornet missed out with illness while Ben Brereton Diaz was left out of the squad with the returning Kamaldeen Sulemana preferred on the bench.

Leicester also made one change - Bilal El Khannous in for Jordan Ayew - having beaten AFC Bournemouth 1-0 before the international break. 

Saints conceded after 21 seconds the last time they faced Leicester at home but it was their turn to make a fast start this time around.

Archer was unable to finish a rebound after Aribo saw his header come back off the crossbar from a corner.

Summer signing Archer made no mistake with his next chance - he tapped in from five yards out having been teed up by Manning.

The Irishman, making his first home start of the season, laid a low ball into the 22 year old's path after just eight minutes.

Leicester improved after going behind as loanee Buonanotte started to cause problems for the hosts.

However, Saints rode the storm and were soon 2-0 up, thanks to Aribo's first goal of the season.

The Nigerian international was in the right place to tap in from two yards after Walker-Peters capped off a strong run with a well-placed cut-back.

Sugawara nearly found Archer in the box before Flynn Downes saw a close-range volley saved on the line by Mads Hermansen.

Southampton were then denied a free-kick on the edge of the box when Anthony Taylor told Tyler Dibling to get up after he was topped by Oliver Skipp.

El Khannouss thought he had halved the deficit just before the break when he saw a curling effort strict the far post.

Leicester swapped Skipp for Harry Winks at the break but that did not turn the game in their favour after the break.

Sugawara saw a dangerous ball turned behind for a corner before Wout Faes nearly scored a comedic own goal.

The Belgian defender very almost sent a diving header past goalkeeper Hermansen, 10 years on from the weekend Sunderland's Santiago Vergini scored his unforgettable own-goal at St Mary's.

Mateus Fernandes made a huge block to deny Vardy just minutes after the veteran forward was booked for a late kick on the Yukinari Sugawara.

The change in momentum prompted Cooper to introduce Abdul Fatawu, who fired a hat-trick for Leicester against Saints last season.

The Ghana winger made an impact as it was he who set up Buonanotte at the near post to finally cut Southampton's lead to one goal.

Martin turned to Paul Onuachu and the returning Will Smallbone to win back control of the game as Leicester hunted a leveller.

Southampton looked like they had been saved by the woodwork and subsequent goal-line clearance from Manning when Fatawu was denied twice.

However, VAR awarded a penalty for a pull on Vardy from substitute Fraser and promptly sent the Scottish winger off.

Vardy made no mistake from the spot and thumped Leicester level with 16 regular minutes still to be played.

Buonanotte was inches away from his second and a 94th-minute winner when his rolling effort skipped just past the post.

The late winner did come in the final minute - substitute Ayew popped up with his Leicester goal to prompt chaotic scenes in the away end.

Southampton: Ramsdale, Sugawara (Fraser, 62'), Harwood-Bellis, Bednarek, Manning, Walker-Peters; Downes, Aribo, Fernandes (Smallbone, 66'), Dibling, Archer (Onuachu, 66').

Unused subs: McCarthy, Taylor, Ugochukwu, Lallana, Kamaldeen, Armstrong.

Goals: Archer, Aribo.

Leicester City: Hermansen, Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristensen (Fatawu, 59'), Ndidi, Skipp (Winks, h-t), El Khannouss (Ayew, 66'), Buonanotte, Mavididi, Vardy.

Unused subs: Ward, Coady, De Cordova-Reid, Pereira, Soumare, Edouard. 

Referee: Anthony Taylor.

Goals: Buonanotte, Vardy, Ayew.

VAR: Alex Chilowicz.

Attendance: 31,145