Jamie Vardy scored his 199th goal for Leicester as they earned a 2-0 win to confirm that relegated Southampton will finish bottom of the Premier League.
Vardy, who will leave the club in the summer after 13 seasons, smashed the opener into the roof of the net in the 17th minute and has three more games to reach a double century.
The 38-year-old also stepped in momentarily to halt the match, blowing the whistle of referee David Webb when he went down with a head injury after colliding with Jordan Ayew and was replaced by fourth official Sam Barrott following a 12-minute delay.
Referee David Webb is injured after a collision with Jordan Ayew
Vardy’s strike was Leicester’s first goal at home in 10 games and it was followed in the 44th minute by Ayew’s half-volley that flew into the bottom left corner to end their 11-match winless run.
Jordan Ayew scores Leicester’s second goal against Southampton
Southampton’s interim boss Simon Rusk made two substitutions at half-time but it was his next changes that irked the travelling fans, who chanted “you don’t know what you’re doing” when he brought off forwards Mateus Fernandes and Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Southampton remain on only 11 points, level with the top-flight’s lowest tally set by Derby in 2008.
Van Nistelrooy: We must respect Vardy’s decision to leave
Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy said:
“It feels good to win again and to break the cycle of the home games without scoring. We said before the game we wanted to give some positivity towards the fans, the team and giving young players an opportunity. All of that came together.
On Jamie Vardy: “Everything comes to an end. For him, it’s clear that he wants to move on and close this in the best way possible. That’s what we have to respect.
“The most important thing is to look back on his career here, on his games, on his goals, on the trophies and you noticed here the crowd realising that it’s the farewell tour of Jamie with Forest and Ipswich to come for him to hopefully score his 200th goal.”
Jamie Vardy celebrates after giving Leicester a first-half lead against Southampton
Coady: Vardy is Leicester’s greatest-ever player
Leicester defender Conor Coady on Jamie Vardy:
“The last few games are about him, what he’s done for this club. He’s Leicester’s greatest-ever player. We need to give him the best chance of getting that last goal to make it to 200.
“He’s a nuisance, even in training with the way he works and runs. People mention his age but he’s one of the fittest in the team and has been for a long time.”
Rusk: Fernandes sub completely justified
Southampton interim boss Simon Rusk:
“We started fairly fell and we’re really disappointed with the fashion of the goal. It gave them a bit of life, energy and in the end they were worthy of their win. The performance levels ran away from us.”
On Southampton supporters not liking his decision to substitute Mateus Fernandes: “I was a little bit surprised at the reaction. Matty had a chest infection last week. He was struggling with his energy levels last week and this week he’s been back to Portugal for family reasons. The team needed energy.
“Matty has been outstanding for us and I’ve got a wonderful relationship with him.
“On the surface, I can understand why the supporters might have questioned that but the context and the rationale behind it is completely justified.”