Neville: Drop-ball error that led to Liverpool winner was 'not a shocker'

Gary Neville has refuted Mike Dean's claim that Liverpool's winner at Nottingham Forest on Saturday came as a result of a "monumental error" from referee Paul Tierney.

Darwin Nunez scored in the 99th minute at the City Ground to keep Liverpool on top of the Premier League but Forest were furious at a mistake made by the officials in the build-up to the goal.

Forest had possession in an attacking position when Tierney stopped play due to a head injury to Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate and then returned the ball to the visitors - instead of the hosts - when play restarted.

It took nearly two minutes after having the ball mistakenly handed back to them for Liverpool to score but that did not stop Forest reacting furiously, with Evangelos Marinakis, the club's owner, confronting the officials during chaotic scenes at the final whistle.

Speaking on Sunday, Dean - a former Premier League referee - heavily criticised his former colleague Tierney, but speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, Neville insisted too much was being made of the mistake.

"I saw Mike Dean's interview earlier today, where he described it as a 'monumental error'," said Neville. "There is no doubt the Nottingham Forest player is in possession but the goal came a minute and 50 [seconds] after that. Two minutes in football is an absolute age.

"The idea that it was a 'monumental error'... I get the fact it was a mistake, a frustration, but I get the feeling now that we're making too much out of what I feel is a run-of-the-mill error. You see them quite regularly in a season."

Neville also hit out at Mark Clattenburg, the former Premier League referee who is now working in a refereeing analysis role with Forest and told the media that Tierney's error was "difficult