The Blues boss gave an assessment of his team's performance after the loss to Liverpool
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Moyes at full time after the loss to Liverpool (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
David Moyes believes his Everton side may be closer to making serious progress than many believe after his Blues pushed Liverpool to the limit once again.
Seven weeks after a Merseyside derby in which Everton did more than enough to deserve the draw earned through James Tarkowski’s stunning late volley, they once again challenged a team that is on the brink of the Premier League title.
For Moyes, it was a sign his players are answering his call for them to step up in the final weeks of the season - though his pride at their display was undermined by his anger at the controversial goal that was the difference at Anfield.
READ MORE: What furious David Moyes said to officials after controversial Liverpool goalREAD MORE: What happened during Diogo Jota goal celebrations shows Everton truth Liverpool won't ever admit
He said: “Liverpool were the better team, I have no complaints with that. We had some opportunities. I thought we did a great job, we were resilient. I think we've now played Liverpool twice in a month, just about, and I think we've run them close in both games. So maybe we're a wee bit closer than we think we are. And I thought the players did a great job tonight in some aspects, not in other aspects. And it's disappointing when you walk away. with a goal which is clearly offside.”
Moyes, like many, was frustrated by the decision to let Diogo Jota’s second half strike stand. The ball fell his way after Tarkowski intercepted a pass to the offside Luis Diaz, though the ECHO understands VAR officials believed the Liverpool winger was not in a position to impact the defender’s ability to play the ball, meaning the goal should stand.
The goal punctured the momentum built by an Everton side that was creating chances - and could have taken the lead only for Beto to strike the post when through on goal.
Moyes said he could take pride in his players’ performance despite the result, which ended a nine game unbeaten run in the league.
He said: “We've had a really hard game tonight and we've got hard games coming up but it's actually in a way it's a feeling it's a wee bit of a challenge to see how we can do and I have to say the players at the moment have stood up to the challenge twice against Liverpool.
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“I have to say I thought Liverpool were much faster, much better tonight than they were in the first game. They made it difficult for us but I have to say our players showed great resilience, stuck at it. We just couldn't play well enough when we got the moments and look, we had our chances. We had some chances but we just couldn’t quite take them tonight.”