West Ham boss Moyes proud as he finally gets better of Liverpool
LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - West Ham United manager David Moyes has waited 11 long years for a Premier League victory against Liverpool and few would begrudge his joyous celebrations after it finally arrived in a memorable 3-2 win for his side on Sunday.
Moyes had not tasted victory against the Anfield club in his last 14 league meetings as manager of Everton, Manchester United, Sunderland and West Ham, losing 10 and drawing four.
But he finally cracked the code and there was no doubting West Ham deserved it as an own goal by Liverpool keeper Alisson and goals by Pablo Fornals and Kurt Zouma after the break sent West Ham above Juergen Klopp's side into third place in the standings.
"It's been hard to beat Liverpool over my career, they've been a very good side, so I was very pleased to get it today," said Moyes, who is in his second spell as West Ham manager after saving them from relegation in his first.
"Even when it went to 3-1 it was never comfortable, Liverpool were very good and we had to work hard to keep them out. What the supporters really want to see is a winning team and they're beginning to see a team that's winning a lot more now. It was a terrific effort from the players and we even could have scored a couple more."
West Ham have now won four successive league games and they have their best points haul after 11 games since 1981.
They have also qualified for the knockout phase of the Europa League and the mood in east London is vibrant.
"I'm hugely proud (to have turned West Ham around)," Moyes said. "The way the players have gone about it, you talk about me turning it around, these players were close to relegation.
"Now we're pushing for Europe."
West Ham's win ended Liverpool's joint club record 25-match unbeaten run in all competitions and they will go into the international break in third place, one ahead of Klopp's side.
The German coach complained about West Ham's opening goal after four minutes, insisting that Alisson had been impeded by Angelo Ogbonna while trying to catch the ball.
But in reality his side were not at their best, especially in the second half, as they were outmuscled by West Ham.
"What can Alisson do? That is why the goalie is protected," said Klopp. "If a player goes up in the air with his arm, it is an important part of the body for the goalkeeper.
"People will say I am making excuses but I am calm. You need normal decisions from a referee and he did not do that."
Klopp did concede, however, that his side were not their usual clinical selves.
"We were not that calm in the decisive moments," he said. "We can be better 100%, you cannot always play your best result, you have to grind out a result but they scored three goals and we didn't." (Reporting by Martyn Herman Editing by Christian Radnedge)
