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A controversial penalty from Danny Ings earned Southampton a 2-1 Premier League victory at Brighton on Monday night.
The hosts went ahead with a penalty shot from Pascal Gross, before Jannik Vestergaard finished off with a header to help the visitors level the score at half-time.
But it was the Saints who took the three points after the VAR canceled what looked like an out-of-box foul, giving a penalty that Ings easily dispatched.
Brighton manager Graham Potter made a change from the team that held champion Liverpool to a 1-1 draw in their last outing.
Defender Tariq Lamptey returned from a one-game penalty that saw him miss the Liverpool game, while Neal Maupay fell to the bench.
Southampton named a team unchanged since their 3-2 loss to Manchester United, though Ings was named to the bench after a month on the sidelines with a knee problem.
Nathan Redmond also returned to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team of the day after a break with a hamstring problem, and sits among the substitutes.
Brighton broke the deadlock in the 25th minute when referee David Coote signaled the spot after James Ward-Prowse was judged to have handled the ball in the box and the VAR agreed with the decision on the field.
Gross shot the penalty after sending Alex McCarthy the wrong way to give the home side an advantage, much to the delight of newly returned fans.
Against the game’s streak, Southampton scored the equalizer just before the halftime break.
Ward-Prowse continued his impressive set-piece record, crossing a corner for Vestergaard to unleash a superb header that passed Mat Ryan.
Southampton most threatening
Theo Walcott created the first real start of the second period when he swerved from 18 yards at the hour mark.
Saints substitute Ings looked at a header over the crossbar from a Stuart Armstrong center as the visitors continued to threaten.
Redmond flew in after some brilliant work from Ings before Southampton finally took the lead with 10 minutes to go, although there was a lot of controversy involved.
Solly March took Kyle Walker-Peters out of the box, with Coote conceding a free throw. But after a lengthy VAR review, a penalty was awarded and Ings swept away with confidence.
Maupay stabbed an effort wide as the Seagulls looked for an immediate response, but the Saints held on to fifth in the table. Brighton is still 16.
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