Sunderland drew 1-1 with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday

Referee Stuart Atwell made the correct decision by denying Sunderland a penalty in their 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Wednesday evening, according to Sky Sports pundits Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd.

The Black Cats gave yet another heartening account of their Premier League credentials with a spirited display on Merseyside, taking a second-half lead courtesy of Chemsdine Talbi before Nordi Mukiele inadvertently deflected a Florian Wirtz shot into his own net to level the score.

Sunderland might even have sealed all three points had Wilson Isidor been able to convert a late breakaway from inside his own half, but the Frenchman was ultimately thwarted by a lung-busting recovery run from Federico Chiesa after rounding goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

But Regis Le Bris’ men did muster other opportunities besides, twice hitting the woodwork, and even having one particularly vehement shout for a penalty waved away. As a long throw was launched into Liverpool penalty area, Dan Ballard went down under pressure from Dominik Szoboszlai, claiming that he had been shoved in the back.

A swift VAR review followed, with Atwell and his team ruling that the contact did not constitute a foul, and in their assessment of the incident, Gallagher and Bothroyd were inclined to agree.

What did Dermot Gallagher and Jay Bothroyd say about potential Sunderland penalty shout vs Liverpool?

Speaking on Sky Sports News’ Ref Watch on Thursday morning, former Premier League official Gallagher was asked whether Sunderland should have been awarded a spot kick, to which he responded: “No. I think what happens is, Ballard, he's not going to get the ball, he feels the touch, there's no doubt about that. Goes back to what we say, look, Ballard's feeling for him as well, feels the touch on his back, just goes down. It's just consequences.”

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Ex-England international Bothroyd continued: “And also, that one there is funny because I know exactly what he's done there. So he realises he's ahead of Szoboszlai, and then when he's ahead of him, he kind of backs in, which means he's trying to initiate contact from Szoboszlai. Because Szoboszlai’s moving as well, obviously he's going to hit him.

“Look, you see him here, brace his legs, he's coming back, then obviously Szoboszlai goes into him. So it's not a case of, you know, Ballard standing and then Szoboszlai pushes him. It's the fact that they were both moving into that area, Ballard realises he's in front, then he stops. He plants his legs, Szoboszlai runs into the back of him, he goes down. But it's the right decision, it wasn't a penalty.”

Gallagher then concluded: “It also proves two things, doesn't it? It is a full contact game, and making contact with a player isn't necessarily foul.”

Your next Sunderland read: Régis Le Bris delivers verdict on Wilson Isidor's late miss as Sunderland draw at Liverpool