Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has hit out at his players for succumbing to a 2-0 defeat against Leicester City despite the motivation of European football.

Riyad Mahrez's unanswered first-half brace meant that the South Coast side remain seventh in the table, failing to capitalise on sixth-placed Tottenham Hotspur's 3-0 defeat at Stoke City.

Koeman told BBC Sport: "If you start the game and you know the opponent is fighting against relegation you can expect they are aggressive and we weren't in the beginning.

"At least we had a reaction. We didn't create any good chances. It's difficult to explain because we play for European football.

"Everybody is hungry for European football because it's a great achievement and still we are in that situation, we have to react and change our mentality."

Southampton's penultimate game of the season is a home clash against Aston Villa on May 16.