David Moyes thought Everton was hard done by in its 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield— despite Blues center-back James Tarkowski somehow getting away with a horrendous tackle early in the game.
“We were a lot closer to them in the two games since I came back into the club than most people would have expected,” Moyes said live on Sky Sports post-match. “We’ve given them a really good game.
“Tonight was really tight and there was an offside goal which they get and that’s the difference. The player behind Tarkowski [Luis Diaz] is clearly offside and it’s a very easy decision to give. I can’t understand any reason why that wouldn’t have been given.”
On the Tarkowski tackle on Alexis Mac Allister, Moyes refused to accept that his side had been fortunate. Instead, he insisted that the offside was a much bigger issue.
“My first thought was that it was a brilliant tackle for a derby game — a tackle we would have seen a few years ago,” he said. “I understand nowadays things are slightly different with follow-throughs etc.
“We might have got a bit lucky but don’t be [equating] that with the goal. The goal was a different incident and that won Liverpool the game in the end.”
Moyes did accept that Everton is a long way behind Liverpool at the moment. And his wait for a win at Anfield goes on.
“We had a few chances but we’re not kidding ourselves,” Moyes added. “Liverpool were the better team and there is no hiding that fact. They are top of the league but we showed a lot of resilience and made some chances.
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“It’s just gut-wrenching when you feel the end result has come from something that we didn’t feel was deserved. We were desperate to get something out of the game and the players have been doing brilliantly well.
“Liverpool were better but we tried to close the gap between our level and their level and for long periods, I think we did a good job of it. At the moment, they are the best team in the league and we were unfortunate not to get something out of it.”
Liverpool.com says: Moyes surely cannot argue that Tarkowski should have stayed on the field. It is quite ridiculous to think anything other than it was a red card.
As for the offside, it could have been given but the explanation is clear: Luis Diaz did not move towards the ball. That is inarguable, even if he does interfere to some extent by making Tarkowski play the ball. The law is wrong, if anything, rather than the application.
