David Moyes stunned that West Ham did not get a penalty in late drama vs Liverpool

West Ham manager David Moyes left the London Stadium bitterly disappointed after seeing his side denied a penalty in the latter stages of their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool.

With the clock winding down, Liverpool’s Thiago made a lunging tackle on Danny Ings in the box. The Spaniard won the ball, but the ricochet saw it bounce up and hit his arm.

Moyes and the Hammers fans screamed for a penalty for this infringement. However, referee Chris Kavanagh and VAR decided against awarding a spot-kick. Liverpool hung on to claim a narrow 2-1 victory as a result.

In the opinion of David Moyes, this was a big, missed decision against his West Ham side.

“It’s a penalty kick,” said the Scot, via BT Sport. “A player lunges in the box, which is different from a slip or breaking your fall. When you lunge in the box, you know, your arm is out – it was a penalty.

“Sometimes you need a wee bit of good fortune on the journey, and I’ve got to say, I’m not sure [we got it]. Do you think that would have been given at Anfield?

“For him [the referee] to be so sure that it wasn’t a handball and to not even go and check it… I don’t know who was on VAR tonight, I really don’t.”

Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had a different view of the controversial incident.

Klopp disagrees with David Moyes on West Ham penalty incident

Speaking after the game, the Liverpool coach played down any penalty claims.

“I didn’t see it back, what do you think?” pondered Klopp, via BBC Sport. “His hand was on the ball, but I think it’s because he drops down. I did not see it back, but we already have two different opinions on it – so I think it’s not a penalty if it’s 50-50!

“So, I don’t know. But I think it would have been lucky for West Ham.”

Good fortune was on the Reds’ side this time as they picked up three points on their trip to London.

Match report: West Ham 1-2 Liverpool

Liverpool kept up their pursuit of the European spots with a battling win over David Moyes’ West Ham.

Although it was the home side who got into the lead early on. A smart move saw Michail Antonio set up Lucas Paqueta, who fired home his third goal in as many games. However, West Ham did not hold their lead for long.

Cody Gakpo found an equaliser for the visitors via a drilled effort from range. His low shot bounced across the London Stadium turf, just evading the dive of Lukasz Fabianski.

After the break, the hosts thought they had retaken the lead when Jarrod Bowen found the bottom corner. Unfortunately, though, the winger saw his effort ruled out for offside. He had made his run just a fraction too early following a VAR check.

Jurgen Klopp’s side took this let-off as a warning and thus went in pursuit of a goal themselves. A mess of a corner offered a chance to Joel Matip, with Fabianski able to make a point-blank save.

Despite the keeper’s best efforts, there was nothing he could do about Liverpool’s second goal. Andrew Robertson’s out-swinging corner set up Matip beautifully to power home a header. David Moyes will be unhappy at the marking from his West Ham side – in contrast, the Reds won’t mind one bit.

As Liverpool looked to see out an away victory, the Hammers felt they should have had a penalty. The officials did not agree, leaving Thiago’s apparent handball in the box unpunished.

This win takes Liverpool up to sixth in the table and keeps their slim top-four chances alive. West Ham, by comparison, fail to add more distance between themselves and the drop zone.

Featured image credit: Getty