Filip Djuricic was adamant he should have been awarded at least one penalty in the first half of Saints’ 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

Twice in the opening four minutes, the midfielder had strong claims for a spot kick waved away by referee Kevin Friend.

The first, after less than 20 seconds, saw him go to ground under a slight pull on the arm from Emre Can, before being clearly wiped out by a sliding Joe Allen, moments after Philippe Coutinho had fired Liverpool in front.

“I think the second one was a clear penalty,” said Djuricic.

“The first one, ok, I fell down because I felt the contact.

“The referee in that case could or not whistle, but the second one I think was a clear one and it could decide the game on a different way, but we could also play a little bit better in the offensive line, and be more direct.”

Djuricic added: “What can you do? In football, sometimes you get, sometimes not.”

The midfielder, who was making his first start since joining on loan for the rest of the season from Benfica, insisted the result was a harsh one on Saints.

“It’s not nice to lose, but I think we was the better team all game,” he said.

“They didn’t have so much chances. I cannot remember one at all [other than the goals].

“They scored two goals – the first fantastic. We are going for the next game, we are trying to reach our next win, and that’s most important.”

Djuricic was satisfied with his performance on his full debut, but suggested he was not as sharp as he would have liked.

“Generally I play ok, I think,” he said.

“If I was sharp enough in maybe two or three situations, or shoot at the end of the half when it came in, it could be a perfect game for me, but, ok, it’s my first game.

“I still didn’t meet the team enough and in the next couple of games, game by game, I will feel better for sure.”

Despite the deflating result, Djuricic insists Saints’ Champions League hopes remain alive and kicking.

“We are still there and we are at the moment fifth,” he said.

“Everything is one point, and two points in front is Arsenal.

“You saw [on Saturday] they got the penalty that was out of the box I think and the second goal was offside and today we didn’t have luck, but in football you need to deserve luck, so I hope next game shall be better.

“It was a pity that we didn’t have a better result tonight, but next game if we win we are still in the race and everything is, I think, in order.”