Caludio Ranieri praises Leicester's 'fantastic' spirit after comeback at Southampton

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri praised his side’s ‘fantastic’ spirit after they came from two goals down to rescue a point at Southampton.

Goals from Jose Fonte and Virgil van Dijk gave the hosts a 2-0 lead at the break but Jamie Vardy's second-half double secured a 2-2 draw at St. Mary's.

And Ranieri, whose side has won more points from losing positions than any other top-flight side this season with seven, hailed what he claimed was an important comeback.

"It was important to come back after being two goals down," Ranieri told Sky Sports.

"Our spirit is fantastic. It's a great spirit. There was a great atmosphere in the dressing room before the game and at half-time.

"They believed everything could be possible and when you have this spirit it's fantastic," he added.

"It's a blend form the players and from me. I have this spirit but if you don't have the players with the same kind of spirit you will not go very far."

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With his side 2-0 down at the break Ranieri made two substituitons with Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Dyer replacing Jeffrey Schlupp and Shinji Okazaki.

Ranieri, whose side remained unbeaten on the road in the Premier League this season, made the changes as he wanted his side to take more risks in the second 45 minutes.

"I changed two players because we needed something more," he added.

"Also, it was important to take some more risks. In the end we risked just the one counter-attack but we recovered very well and created a lot of chances.

"We conceded a lot of set plays and we don't have taller players than them. It was natural to suffer."

And asked if Leicester could have won the game, Ranieri said: "Yes, of course. But when you are down two goals you think it's important to score the first and then you can believe more.

"The second goal then draws the match and we wanted to win but it was the end of the match."