Liverpool’s 3-1 Premier League victory over Southampton included two penalties. But Mike Dean believes the opening goal should have been called out for offside.
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean claims Southampton’s opening goal against Liverpool should not have stood — but not because of a foul by Matheus Fernandes.
Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk were embroiled in a mix-up in which the goalkeeper claimed to have been fouled. However, Dean believes an offside offense was overlooked.
“I’m just worried about the goal,” he told Sky Sports. “They presumably verified it with VAR, but I’ve looked at it three or four times and am convinced it’s offside.
“The Southampton player has gone to confront the keeper; the ball has touched his foot and moved forward, and Smallbone’s left foot appears to be in front of the defender. Unless there was another defender outside that we couldn’t see on TV… he appears offside, in my opinion.”
In the end, it wasn’t important. Liverpool won handily and turned the game around in the first ten minutes of the second half. Darwin Nunez scored and then won a penalty, and Mohamed Salah added a second spot kick to complete the victory.
Southampton was not pleased with Liverpool’s first penalty, which was awarded when Nunez was felled inside the box. It was a mild foul, but there was contact, and once the referee signaled to the spot, VAR did not interfere since the fault was not plain and evident.
“I think the [first] penalty was not a penalty and that changed the match,” he said to the British broadcaster. “I’m pleased with how we performed today, but this cannot be a penalty ever.
“I’m sorry it happened since it was 1-1 and it affected the match slightly. We have a lot of young guys who want to progress and improve. We can lose, but we must fight like we do now.”
