Mark Clattenburg explains why Southampton should have had two penalties against Manchester United

Manchester United secured a 3-2 win over Southampton on Saturday despite the visitors heading into half-time with a 1-0 lead.

Andreas Pereira chalked off Yan Valery’s opener eight minutes after play restarted, while Romelu Lukaku put the hosts ahead six minutes later.

However, the Saints equalized from a free-kick through James Ward-Prowse to set up a nervy final 15 minutes.

Lukaku grabbed the winner two minutes to the end of regulation time, and United could have bagged another one had Angus Gunn not saved Paul Pogba’s injury-time penalty.

The Red Devils moved to fourth in the Premier League table as a result of the victory, but the win over Southampton might not have been possible had referee Stuart Atwell awarded the visitors two well-deserved spot-kicks.

Former EPL ref Mark Clattenburg believes the Saints were robbed twice, and without a doubt, VAR would have given the two penalties if it was in place.

“This should have resulted in the award of a spot-kick, but it was a difficult one for referee Stuart Attwell,” Clattenburg wrote in the Sportsmail.

“The holding of Bertrand’s shirt by Smalling happened on the blind side of the official. The best angle to see the offence would have been from behind the goal. 

“Southampton can feel wronged because they should also have been awarded a penalty for this one. Bertrand ran across Young and the Manchester United defender (Ashley Young) grabbed the wrist of the forward, pulling him down. Attwell missed it and allowed play to continue.”

The Saints are currently in 17th place in the table – two points above the drop zone – and they would have loved to leave Old Trafford with at least a point given their dodged performance.

United can count themselves lucky for escaping been penalized twice, but with VAR set to be in place as from next term, things will be different in such situations.