Roy Keane insists Adam Lallana should have been sent off against Liverpool

Roy Keane is convinced that Southampton midfielder Adam Lallana should have been sent off against Liverpool in Sunday's Premier League match at St Mary's.

Lallana was shown a yellow card by referee Samuel Barrott midway through the first half after a nasty challenge caused his studs to make contact with the left ankle of Liverpool player Ryan Gravenberch.

But Keane felt Lallana – who made 178 appearances for Liverpool between 2014 and 2020 – was lucky.

Asked during Sky Sports' half-time coverage whether Lallana should have seen red, Keane replied: 'Oh, I think so. He's not in control. He's not even looking at the ball.'

Keane – who received 13 red cards during his career in English football – added: “I would have been sent off for it.

“I would have been 100 percent, and I probably wouldn't have had any complaints.”

Keane then suggested that Lallana may have gotten off lightly because of his reputation as a nice guy.

“They've obviously looked at the player and said, 'Oh, well, he's not really a nasty guy,'” Keane said.

'None of the Liverpool players are after him. They were all polite to him, he's an ex-teammate.

'I think he got away with it. The more I look at it, the worse it is. I think it's red.'

Despite seemingly being released by the officials, Lallana still left Sunday's match early. The 36-year-old was sent off in the 37th minute after sustaining an injury.

It was still 0-0 when Lallana made a mistake on Gravenberch. But Liverpool eventually won 3-2 in a chaotic match.

Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring after half an hour, after Southampton made a mess of things by playing from the back.

Goals from Adam Armstrong and Mateus Fernandes then turned the match in the Saints' favour.

But Mo Salah hit back with a brace for the Reds, who now sit eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.