Morgan feared Leicester winner would be ruled out

Wes Morgan was concerned that his winning goal in Leicester City’s 1-0 victory over Southampton was going to be disallowed by referee Michael Oliver.

Morgan rose above Jordy Clasie to head in Christian Fuchs’ cross on 38 minutes for what proved to be the decisive goal on Saturday.

The victory sent Claudio Ranieri’s side seven points clear at the top of the Premier League after their closest title rivals, Tottenham, had been held to a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday.

The Leicester captain was worried that contact he made with the Southampton midfielder in the process would lead to the effort being ruled out, but was thrilled the goal stood and enabled them to increase their advantage at the top.

“I did put my arm across him and I did check with the referee to see if he spotted it, but it was a clean challenge and a clean header,” Morgan said on Sky Sports.

“I wasn’t sure if he was going to give a free-kick or not, but he must have thought it was a legitimate challenge.

“I have been getting a lot of stick because I hadn’t scored all season, but to keep the boys quiet is fantastic. It proved to be an important goal.

“We saw that the [Tottenham] game was a draw and wanted to make the most of our opportunity. It was exactly what we wanted.”

Morgan revealed he was unsure whether he would be fit to play having struggled with illness after returning from international duty with Jamaica.

He added: “I was quite ill on Saturday and I wasn’t sure if I’d be well enough to play, but I felt a lot better – it’s important that we all dig in and do our part.”

Prior to Morgan’s goal, Danny Simpson appeared to block Sadio Mane’s goal-bound effort with his arm.

No penalty was awarded by official Oliver and the Leicester defender did not immediately think he had made an illegal block.

Simpson said: “I saw him [Mane] make a run and the other lad stepped up. He was going through and I didn’t feel I could play him offside.

“Thankfully he gave me a chance by going round Kasper [Schmeichel] and I just put myself in a position to stop the ball.

“I’ll have to have a look back but I felt like my arm was in my body, I didn’t feel it was out. He chipped it up at me and I had to get in the way of it.”