Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has claimed that Southampton's first goal against Liverpool should not have stood — but not because there was a foul from Matheus Fernandes.

Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk were involved in a mix-up with the goalkeeper claiming he was fouled. But Dean says there might also have been an offside offense that was missed.

"I'm just worried about the goal," he said on Sky Sports. "They've obviously checked it with VAR, but I've looked at it three of four times, and I'm convinced it's offside.

"The Southampton player has gone to challenge the keeper, it's touched his foot and gone forward, and Smallbone's left foot seems to be in front of the defender. Unless there was another defender outside that we can't pick up on the TV... but he looks offside, in my opinion."

In the end, it didn't matter. Liverpool won comfortably and turned the game around inside 10 second half minutes. Darwin Nunez scored and then won a penalty before Mohamed Salah added a second spot kick to seal the points.

Southampton wasn't happy with the first Liverpool penalty that was awarded when Nunez was felled inside the box. It was a soft foul but there was contact, and once the referee pointed to the spot, it was not a clear and obvious enough error for VAR to intervene.

"I think the [first] penalty was not a penalty and that changed the match," he told the BBC. "I am satisfied with how we played today but this cannot be a penalty ever.

"I'm sorry it happened because it was 1-1 and it changed the match a little bit. We have lots of young players who want to grow up and improve. We can lose, but we have to fight like we fight today."

Liverpool.com says: While Southampton might have got away with one and then felt hard done by, the Saints wouldn't have expected anything other than a defeat in this game. Liverpool didn't start well but even so, never looked like losing the points. Now, with a 16-point lead at the top of the table, the Reds should be cruising to the title.