Southampton starter makes shocking claim about Newcastle's first half penalty | OneFootball

Lesley Ugochukwu reveals that he was surprised by the referee's decision to award a penalty to Newcastle United.

In case you missed it, Southampton lost 3-1 against Newcastle United at the St. Mary's. The scoreline reflects a thumping home defeat, however that wasn't the reality.

Actually, this fixture was largely an end-to-end contested affair. Consequently, Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe had a lot of positive words to say about the Saints.

Still, this match was another Premier League game shaded by controversies. Unfortunately, both of them went in Newcastle's favour and ended up haunting the hosts.

In the second half, Southampton were denied a late 3-2 goal due to a lengthy VAR review. Though, that was a correct call but what had happened earlier surprised a lot of the Southampton players.

Southampton starter makes shocking claim about Newcastle's first half penalty

In the first half, Alexander Isak had a clear scoring chance and Joe Aribo attempted to tackle him from behind. The contact didn't seem excessive but the referee decided to give a spot kick to Newcastle.

Now, Southampton star Lesley Ugochukwu has made a shocking claim about this moment. As quoted by the Daily Echo, Ugochukwu said: "To be fair, I haven't watched it back. Everyone was disappointed. In my feeling on the pitch, I thought it wasn't a pen."

Clearly, Ugochukwu echoes Southampton's lowdown after that penalty. The Saints crumbled under pressure at Old Trafford and again they couldn't sustain their lead on Saturday.

Talking about the penalty call, Southampton shouldn't have any hard feelings with the referee's verdict. The reason being that they got away with a red card against Nottingham Forest and here they were made to pay for it.

What's surprising is the fact that Southampton ended on the losing side on both occasions. Currently, the club needs a few Premier League wins more than anything.