David Moyes said he was "surprised" to see West Ham United denied a late penalty against Liverpool and accused the VAR of “disrespect” after the Hammers slipped to a 2-1 defeat on Wednesday.
The West Ham manager angrily confronted Chris Kavanagh on the field at full time after the referee decided not to award a penalty when Thiago Alcantara’s arm hit the ball as he challenged Danny Ings in the box.
VAR Niel Swarbick did not instruct Kavanagh to review the incident, leaving an incandescent Moyes fuming.
“I’ve a chance to see it since,” said Moyes. “The difference for me is, and you’ll probably hear them coming out with some rubbish about he [Thiago] needed to break his fall, but if you lunge it’s your own fault for lunging and being out of control in the tackle.
“You can break your fall by sliding and having to put your arm down but when you lunge for the ball, for me, that completely nullifies anything they’re talking about breaking your fall. I think it’s a penalty kick.
“I think the hardest thing to take is the disrespect from VAR, that VAR wouldn’t have at least said to the referee that this might be worth having a look. That tells me they don’t see that as even close to a decision. I’m surprised.
“Somebody in VAR didn’t have enough football knowledge to understand that this could be close.
“Whoever it was chose not to send the referee [to the pitchside monitor]. VAR, for me, showed no respect whatsoever to us."
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Liverpool's Cody Gakpo celebrates with teammate Curtis Jones after scoring their first goal in the 2-1 Premier League win against West Ham at the London Stadium on April 26, 2023. Getty -
Joel Matip of Liverpool scores their second goal under pressure from Declan Rice of West Ham. Getty -
Liverpool's Joel Matip, right, celebrates scoring their winner. PA -
Lucas Paqueta of West Ham celebrates after scoring the opening goal. EPA -
Lucas Paqueta scores West Ham's first goal. PA -
Michail Antonio of West Ham United misses a scoring chance as Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool plays the ball out. Getty -
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reacts on the touchline. PA -
Diogo Jota of Liverpool looks on as a shot flies past West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski. Getty -
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah makes a break. EPA -
West Ham manager David Moyes reacts on the touchline. Getty -
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and West Ham United's Declan Rice battle. PA -
Diogo Jota of Liverpool lies injured after a clash with Vladimir Coufal, right, of West Ham. EPA
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp took a different view, though expressed sympathy for Moyes.
“I heard now about the handball. I thought he just fell on the ball but I can see why Moyesie would think different,” Klopp said.
Moyes' mood would not have been helped by Liverpool's come-from-behind victory having taken the lead through Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta on 12 minutes.
Cody Gakpo cancelled that out with a long-range drive before the Hammers were denied a second goal when Jarrod Bowen's effort was ruled out for offside.
Joel Matip’s towering header on 67 minutes put Liverpool ahead before the late drama as the Reds held on for their third straight Premier League win to move up to sixth place ahead of Tottenham on goal difference and with a game in hand.
“I liked the performance a lot," said Klopp. "Parts of the first half we were exceptional. We made one mistake and they scored a great goal, what a screamer. But we stayed calm and scored our screamer.
“Second half I liked as well. We had to dig in deep because of the physicality of West Ham. I would have liked the game if it was a draw. We won so that makes it the perfect night for us.”
Player ratings
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WEST HAM RATINGS: Lukasz Fabianski - 6. There was little the West Ham goalkeeper could have done about Cody Gakpo’s strike, with the ball hit with precision off a bounce before going in off the post. A big stop prevented Liverpool from taking the lead, but Matip scored from the corner in the next phase. EPA -
Aaron Cresswell - 6. Didn’t allow Mohamed Salah too much success down his flank, but could have contributed more in attacking areas. PA -
Nayef Aguerd - 6. A sensational piece of defending prevented what would have been a massive chance for Mohamed Salah, battling well to block the Liverpool forward’s effort – and making up for a mistake he made earlier on in the game. Getty -
Kurt Zouma - 6. Generally read play well and intervened to break up plenty of attacks. Helped Nayef Aguerd out after a mistake to stop Mohamed Salah. AP -
Vladimir Coufal - 6. Got forward at the right times but was too wasteful with his passing. Defended well for the most part. Getty -
Declan Rice - 6. Alert to the danger to stop plays developing in central areas but sometimes should have taken the safer option with his passing decisions. PA -
Tomas Soucek - 6. Battled well in midfield and won some key headers amid a difficult battle for West Ham to get hold of any meaningful possession. PA -
Lucas Paqueta - 7. Hit his strike from outside of the box with venom, though it was helped on from a deflection off Virgil van Dijk. Always looked to play progressively, and helped drive West Ham into some dangerous areas. AFP -
Said Benrahma - 6. Confident in space and looked to off-balance his marker. Should have shot first time with his effort in the first half. Not clear why he was marking Matip from the corner that Liverpool scored from. PA -
Jarrod Bowen - 7. Always looked to run in behind and linked well with Paqueta. Had the ball in the net, but VAR ruled it out for offside. A constant threat for Liverpool who struggled to deal with him at times in isolated situations. Getty -
Michail Antonio - 6. Battled throughout the match when leading the line and won the ball back in some promising positions. Missed a crucial key pass to Said Benrahma that would have put him in against the goalkeeper. EPA -
SUBS: Maxwel Cornet (Benrahma 70') - 5. A half-chance was wasted as his effort was scuffed high and wide while aiming for the top corner. PA -
Danny Ings (Antonio 70') - 6. Found space towards the 80th minute but was tackled by Alisson. Unclear whether it might have been brought back for offside. PA -
LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson - 7. A degree of misfortune came with West Ham’s opening goal, as Lucas Paqueta’s well-hit effort deflected off the knee of Virgil van Dijk, changing the trajectory of the ball to leave the Brazilian stranded. Tackled Danny Ings to prevent what might have been a big chance. Getty -
Andy Robertson - 7. A poor pass almost allowed Benrahma in, but that was one error from a fairly consistent game from the Scotland international. Worked hard to provide an option down the left flank with instinctive runs when Diogo Jota went inside, and he was also quick with his decision-making when getting a ball into the box. Assisted Liverpool’s second goal with a well-taken corner. Getty -
Virgil van Dijk - 7. Assured with his passing for the most part outside of one careless moment when conceding possession to Jarrod Bowen. A crucial intervention stopped what would have been a certain goal when getting in the way of a cut-back before it reached Michail Antonio. It was also a typical dominant display in the air from him. EPA -
Joel Matip - 8. Often in the right position and showed composure when under pressure from West Ham’s press, helping Liverpool play out of it by linking up with Trent Alexander-Arnold. Got forward at the right times to help recycle possession from clearances. Rose well to head past Fabianski and give the Reds the lead in the second half. AFP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7. Another assist after playing a quick pass to Cody Gakpo before his effort. That’s now five assists in his last four games, in a display in his new role where he continues to shine. Reuters -
Fabinho - 6. On the ball more than any other Liverpool midfielder and showed good decision-making with transitioning the ball forwards. He also broke up the play well amid signs of an upturn in form for the Brazil international. Reuters -
Curtis Jones - 6. Chose his moments to go forwards and worked tirelessly between transitions to get back and defend. Another positive performance by Jones, who started his fifth straight Premier League game for the Reds. AP -
Jordan Henderson - 6. Played at a high tempo and linked well with Mohamed Salah. Very vocal from midfield, and often commanded Liverpool’s press that helped regain possession by forcing a long ball. AP -
Diogo Jota - 5. Really should have scored from one of his two chances in the first half, first blazing over the bar before failing to get the right connection on a header. PA -
Cody Gakpo - 7. Always difficult to dispossess when holding the ball in dangerous areas, where he looked to drop off to receive the ball from midfielders. Scored with a precise effort from range that went in off the post. AP -
Mohamed Salah - 7. Constantly looked to challenge his marker and was involved in a number of promising attacks from playing quickly in tight spaces. Produced an excellent cross in the first half that Diogo Jota was unlucky not to convert. Reuters -
SUBS: Thiago Alcantara (Henderson, 59') - 6. Controlled play well from midfield, but his biggest moment in the match came when he made a tackle before handling the ball inside the area, adjudged not to have been handball by the officials. Getty -
Luis Diaz (Jota, 59') - 6. More minutes for Diaz who is easing back into sharpness, and he did produce some moments that showed his agility and deceptiveness on the ball is still there. AP -
Darwin Nunez (Gakpo, 77') - NR. Had space on the break but should have done better in some moments, giving away the ball carelessly. AFP -
James Milner (Jones, 84') - NR. Added experience late on to help Liverpool see out the result. PA
Liverpool's late season revival gives them an outside chance of challenging the top four, though a fifth-placed finish and Europa League football would seem a more realistic prospect.
Klopp said Liverpool must go about their pre-season differently this summer as they look to improve on what has been an often frustrating campaign.
The German voiced regrets about last summer, saying a trip to Asia came too early during preparations for this season, with the squad flying to Bangkok only a month after the Champions League final brought to an end a 63-match campaign that saw the Reds come to within a few games of winning an unprecedented four trophies.
No plans for this summer have yet been confirmed by the club, but it has been reported that a possible trip to the United States has been axed with a single fixture in Singapore preferred.
“We have to plan [pre-season] early and usually you have to plan without the Champions League final because that doesn’t happen constantly, you just have to deal with it,” he said. “And that is what we did [last summer], we dealt with it.
“But then we started in Hong Kong and pretty much playing immediately because we had to and then the boys came back step by step by step. It was never a perfect pre-season but that is not the reason for our season now because before that we had similar pre-seasons.
“But this year must be different. We have now already three, four, five weeks without [European] football. Usually you play all the time. Now we play a lot – I actually have no clue where they would have put in the Champions League games [if we had got through].
“But it’s different and that’s why we have to step up. We have to prepare that in the pre-season and that’s why I want them [the players] back together as quick as somehow possible, respecting the necessity of holidays.”
Liverpool’s season will end on May 28 with their final Premier League fixture away to relegation-battling Southampton.
The first players are due back for pre-season on July 8, with those who have been in international action reporting on July 11.
