Southampton: Hasenhuttl reacts to Saints’ controversial winner vs Brighton

Southampton claimed a 2-1 win at Brighton on Monday and moved up to fifth in the Premier League table in the process.

However, much of the talk post-match was about how their winning goal came about – a controversial penalty that was awarded by VAR after a lengthy delay to proceedings.

Kyle Walker-Peters was brought down and TV replays were inconclusive in showing whether the incident happened inside or outside the penalty area, but Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was clear in his thoughts about whether a spot-kick should have been given.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, the Austrian said:

"“I didn’t see the first penalty. For the second one, that is why we have VAR, especially when it is about decisions if it is in or not then you need this. I think it was clear inside the box. It is not nice to get a penalty against you but the decision from what I have seen was relatively clear.”"

Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Freddie Ljungberg were clear on their views and they believed that the original decision to give a free-kick should have stood because it was not a clear and obvious error.

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Brighton manager Graham Potter gave an honest post-match interview and claimed his side would “have to accept it” if the challenge from Solly March continued into the penalty area, although he would certainly have been understandably disappointed deep down.

Saints were certainly fortunate but it is a good sign that they turned things around on the night and won when they were not at their best for the full 90 minutes.

They struggled to create in the first-half and Brighton could have gone into the break with a decent and deserved lead, but a set-piece brought the visitors back level and shifted momentum back to them for much of the second period.

Possession was retained well and Saints built up pressure patiently before springing forward when openings appeared.

Jannik Vestergaard – scorer of the first goal – launched a superb ball into the path of Kyle Walker-Peters to set up the winning of the penalty, and the Dane’s performance stood out as Saints saw out their win in the latter stages.

December has a lot of points to offer and could well be a vital month if this talented team are to keep in touch with the frontrunners in the Premier League this season.