David Moyes could not hide his anger after Everton suffered a controversial defeat at Leeds United. Debutant Lukas Nmecha's late penalty gave Daniel Farke's men a deserved victory against the Toffees tonight.
Second-half substitute Nmecha held his nerve to fire home an 84th minute winner from the spot after Everton captain James Tarkowski had been adjudged to have handled Anton Stach's deflected shot. The decision was upheld after a VAR check and Nmecha fired home from 12 yards to ensure the Whites made a winning return to the Premier League.
Toffees boss Moyes told Sky Sports: "Leeds were better than us on the night, certainly in the first half. We did much better in the second half. Maybe in the second half alone we might have had a chance of winning the game but I think the goal is completely wrong. It is really harsh. It's difficult to lose on that."
Moyes said he sought an explanation from referee Chris Kavanagh after the match. "I'm really disappointed and unless you cut the boys hand off, I don't know where he goes," he told the BBC. "I don't know if the crowd plays a part in it. They got right behind their team and they played well and probably deserved the victory in fairness.
"I think it's a really poor decision. VAR had a chance to undo it. They tried to say he was leaning to the ball. Surely you're allowed to lean with your hands by your sides?"
On the referees, Moyes added: "They were supposed to be quite fair to them but I think that's a really bad one for us. The referees haven't had a great weekend."
The Scot praised the vocal backing United received from a vociferous Elland Road crowd after the big talking points. "The crowd were probably the ones that were a bit intimidating," he said. "I can't see them intimidating VAR people.
"The crowd were very good here tonight for Leeds United and were fighting for everything. Look, we can't do anything about it now but it's a poor decision."
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