Jamie Vardy scored his 199th goal for Leicester City to help the Foxes beat bottom side Southampton 2-0 at King Power Stadium.

Vardy, who will end his 13-year stay with Leicester when his contract expires in the summer, has three games left this season to reach the 200-goal milestone.

The former England striker swept his strike into the roof of the net after 17 minutes - scoring Leicester's first home Premier League goal since 8 December.

The home fans had even more to cheer about before the break when Jordan Ayew drilled home a half-volley, tucking it into the bottom corner after his initial free-kick rebounded kindly off Southampton's wall.

Ayew had been involved in a bizarre incident earlier in the half when he accidentally caught David Webb in the face and the referee was forced off injured.

Webb, making his Premier League officiating debut, went down clutching his face and Vardy jokingly stopped play by blowing Webb's whistle before it was confirmed he could not continue, with fourth official Sam Barrott taking his place.

Play resumed after a lengthy 11-minute delay, and it was Leicester who reacted quickest, piling forward before Bilal El Khannouss earned the free-kick that resulted in Ayew's goal.

Southampton struggled to create many clear-cut chances, and when the ball did finally find the back of the Leicester net it was ruled out, with Paul Onuachu deemed to be in an offside position when his header bounced off goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk before Mateus Fernandes poked in.

The result means the Saints are guaranteed to finish bottom of the Premier League for a record-equalling third time, and still needing one more point to surpass the record-low 11 points recorded by Derby County in the 2007-08 campaign.

With relegation already confirmed for both sides, pride was the only thing left on the line and it was Leicester who grabbed it - rewarding their resilient fans with two rare goals and an even rarer victory after a miserable season.

In fact, it was the Foxes' first victory since they won at Tottenham on 26 January - ending an 11-match winless league run.

After a pedestrian start, Vardy's goal lifted the spirits around the King Power, with comedic chants of "we've scored a goal" ringing around the stadium shortly after.

The 38-year-old's goal was his 144th in the top flight and moves to joint 14th in the Premier League's all-time scoring charts - level with former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie.

Vardy is also chasing a milestone number of Leicester appearances, needing two more to reach 500.

Aaron Ramsdale denied him his 200th goal for the Foxes, diving down low quickly to save the striker's free-kick.

El Khannouss proved his worth - driving the ball into the box for Vardy's goal before his quick feet fooled Mateus Fernandes to set up the free-kick for Ayew's second.

The Morocco international could have assisted again with seven minutes remaining, but rather than setting up Vardy's 200th or 15-year-old Jeremy Monga, he chose to go alone and saw his strike drift wide.

Southampton remain on course to equal the lowest-ever Premier League points tally of 11 - set by Derby 17 years ago.

There is still time for the Saints - under caretaker manager Simon Rusk - to avoid sharing the unwanted record, but this fixture against their closest-placed rivals was undoubtedly viewed as their best chance to secure that much-needed point.

Their torrid season continued as the hosts took control, with Vardy's clinical finish setting the tone for the rest of the game.

It gets no easier for the Saints, who host last season's champions Manchester City next, before games against Everton and second-placed Arsenal.