Liverpool’s return to the Premier League started with a controversial penalty against Southampton in the 40th minute when Andrew Robertson tackled Tyler Dibling. Still, in all the angles it was seen that the foul was made outside the box.
Arne Slot’s boys were the first team to open the score with a beautiful goal from Dominik Szoboszlai with his weak foot in the 30th minute. The Hungarian’s only goal for the Reds this season was in the 3-1 EFL Cup win against West Ham, but it seems now that the player is back to his scoring days.
Moments later, Southampton’s player tripped over Andrew Robertson, but as it was seen on camera, the penalty was not convincing because the player was tackled outside the box.
This was a tight call in the eyes of football fans, but Michael Olivier stood by his decision deeming that there was “no conclusive evidence” that the foul was made outside Liverpool’s box.
Minutes after the penalty was given to the home team, Premier League Match Centre released a statement on the situation which said that the penalty was checked and confirmed by the Video Assistant Referee and Michael Oliver himself who thinks that Andrew Robertson caused the foul inside the box and there was no evidence that it occurred outside the box.
After the decision was made, Adam Armstrong’s shot from the spot was denied by Caoimhin Kelleher, but the Irish keeper was unable to stop the second shot from the rebound and the match was equalized in St. Mary’s Stadium.
As the match proceeded, Liverpool conceded again in the 56th minute from the goal of Mateus Fernandes but the Reds didn’t stop fighting to get three points of the away match.
In the 65th minute, Mohamed Salah scored a goal after an error from Southampton’s keeper, which equalized the match in a critical situation.
The Egyptian King didn’t stop there after he scored from the spot in the 83rd minute to give his team the win and Liverpool now is eight points clear of Pep Guardiola’s team who lost 4-0 against Tottenham in their own yard.
Next for Liverpool is the home UEFA Champions League game against Real Madrid which will be played on Wednesday and the Reds are hoping to keep their perfect form alive in the competition after winning all four games.
Down below you can see clearly the tackle of Andrew Robertson to give Southampton a penalty to equalize the match before half-time:
