Football
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Burnley's Sean Dyche 'stunned' by penalty decision vs. Southampton

Burnley boss Sean Dyche was left "stunned" by referee Mike Dean's decision not to award his side a penalty in the first half of their 3-1 Premier League defeat at Southampton.

Dyche's side were comfortably beaten in the end but they had a strong penalty appeal turned down with the game in the balance when Johann Berg Gudmundsson was stopped in his tracks by Virgil van Dijk.

"We knew they were a good side and in a good run of form, especially defensively,'' Dyche told Sky Sports. "It's very difficult when you come to these places, particularly when we can't get a decision. I'm stunned by our penalty that wasn't given. I've seen it back and am absolutely amazed.

"They're a really good side and made it a really tough afternoon for us. But it's not helpful when it's 0-0 and you should have a penalty. Who knows after that? It changes the dynamic in the ground and the whole feel of the game.''

Both sides were awarded penalties in the second period, with former Burnley striker Charlie Austin doubling his tally to put Southampton 3-0 up before Sam Vokes grabbed a consolation.

Nathan Redmond was Southampton's other scorer as they claimed a confidence-boosting win ahead of a tough run of fixtures.

"The three points put us in the top half of the table,'' said Austin, who now has seven goals in his last six games.

"If you look at our fixtures now, we've got Inter Milan in the Europa League then [Manchester] City away and Chelsea at home -- so we've got two big games coming up in the league. This win gives us confidence going into the next few games.''

The result left 14th-placed Burnley a point above the bottom three and took Southampton up to eighth ahead of their Europa League trip to Inter on Thursday.

The total of 34 shots from Southampton was the highest of any Premier League team in one match so far this season, but even after two further goals from Austin, manager Claude Puel refused to guarantee he would start at Inter.

Asked if Austin's impressive form made him undroppable, the Frenchman said: "No, it's important he doesn't play all the games from the start. It's important you don't lose Charlie, it's important he's available every time, to keep a good physical level for every player.

"Charlie is not an endurance player; it's important to keep him with his qualities, and we can change the team every game. It's not possible, for me, for a player to start all the games every three days.

"We can keep all the players with a good performance all the time, and a good physical level. It's important to conserve [their energy], to continue this work for the team, for the future.''

Puel was also asked about the England prospects of Austin and the similarly-impressive Redmond, and he said: "I would like a selection for all of my players. Many have good qualities.

"Two players, for example, had a good game. I'm happy for [Austin], for us. He likes to score. The team plays good football and takes confidence from Charlie's quality. At the moment he's very important and interesting for us.''

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