Joel Matip played down the suggestion West Ham United should have been awarded a penalty late on against Liverpool when asked for his opinion on the incident.
David Moyes was left furious after watching the ball strike Thiago Alcantara inside the penalty area, only for referee Chris Kavanagh not to point to the spot nor overturn the decision following a VAR review. Liverpool would subsequently hold on for a 2-1 away win thanks to a second-half header from Matip.
West Ham boss Moyes made his way over to Kavanagh after the full-time whistle to voice his frustration over this call and continued to express his anger when delivering his verdict on this spot-kick shout during a post-match interview with BT Sport and then in the after-match press conference.
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Unconvinced the Hammers were right to feel aggrieved, however, Matip told BT Sport: “For me it didn’t look like one, but I didn’t see it. We fight hard for opportunities and sometimes you need luck and we fight really hard to get this luck."
On his goal, the centre-back added: “I was just happy it went in because a minute before, I had to score. I already had two opportunities and I was just lucky it finally went in. It was quite good, it was a brilliant cross."
Also on the scoresheet for Jurgen Klopp's side was Cody Gakpo, whose first-half strike from range nestled in the bottom left corner to get the Reds back in the game. “It was an important one," said Gakpo of his sixth Premier League goal of the campaign.
"It was good to continue the winning streak. We fought hard as a team and he (Matip) headed the ball in, which was great. We stayed calm and knew we had a lot of possession, so the chances would come. We did great.
"I am enjoying it (his time at the club) and the team is doing great. When you see the results coming in, everyone is more happy. We are always looking at the table: we are on the right track and we have to keep going, keep improving and keep winning."
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