Brighton and Hove Albion moved second in the Premier League table despite failing to win at home to bottom club Southampton.

Kaoru Mitoma capitalised on poor Saints defending to head Brighton in front midway through the first half.

Victory would have taken Brighton six points behind leaders Liverpool, but they were pegged back when Flynn Downes slammed home just before the hour.

Instead they are second, level on points, goal difference and goals scored with Manchester City, but with a better head-to-head record.

Southampton thought they had taken the lead through Cameron Archer shortly after Downes' goal, but it was ruled out for a debatable offside as team-mate Adam Armstrong was ruled to have been interfering with play.

Southampton remain bottom of the table, with just five points from 13 games.

Brighton dominated the opening stages Friday evening, with Southampton nearly caught out on several occasions attempting to play out from the back.

Georginio Rutter was inches away from handing Brighton the lead on 16 minutes, cutting in from the right and striking the post with his left-footed drive.

And they did lead when Tariq Lamptey - making his first league start of an injury-inflicted season - crossed from the right.

Jack Stephens missed his header and the ball was allowed to bounce through to Mitoma, who evaded marker Yukinari Sugawara to head home.

But Brighton failed to press their advantage, and were punished when Armstrong's blocked effort fell perfectly for Downes to strike from 16 yards.

Southampton, who had lost their previous nine away league games, felt they should have taken all three points but were denied in controversial circumstances.

They appeared to have made it 2-1 with a fine team move sparked in midfield by youngster Tyler Dibling, the shining star amid the Saints' league struggles.

Dibling fed sub Ryan Fraser, whose cross from the left went behind Armstrong at the near post but was tucked home by Archer on the far side.

A lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) check followed for more than four minutes, which determined that Archer was narrowly onside - but that Armstrong, who was off, had flicked his heel towards the cross and was thus interfering with play.

It therefore meant Southampton were denied a second league win of the season - although they also had themselves to blame.

They looked to play more directly at times here, but too often this amounted to aimless crosses and set-pieces hoofed into the Brighton area to no end.

And Archer missed Southampton's best first-half chance when shinning over from eight yards.

This appeared to be the perfect opportunity for Brighton to demonstrate that, if Manchester City and Chelsea are considered to still be in the title race, they should be too.

Fabian Hurzeler's side have been in great form, and have a good looking run of fixtures to come too.

In December, the Seagulls do not face a side currently in the Premier League top seven. Their highest ranked opponents next month are eighth-place Aston Villa on 30 December.

But if they cannot follow up eye-catching wins over teams like Manchester City by beating a side without an away point until this point, then Brighton will fall short.

They do have players coming back into form and fitness. Lamptey's return at right-back for the first time since October is welcome and the Ghana international was lively.

Centre-back Lewis Dunk was also fit enough for the bench, while Matt O'Riley looked at home on his first start in a Premier League midfield since signing from Celtic in the summer.

But forwards Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro, both impressive in recent weeks, failed to shine here as Brighton dropped two points.