West Ham United manager David Moyes received plenty of criticism from the fans after we bowed out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage, following a 5-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Liverpool were far too good for West Ham in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on the night, but David Moyes must take a lot of the blame for his shocking team selection, after making six changes on the night.
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It was a quarter-final for crying out loud, and it represented a big chance for the Hammers to reach the semi-final of a domestic competition for the first time since 2011.
If you asked every single West Ham fan – what game is more important out of the Liverpool and Manchester United matches, the vast majority would have chosen the Carabao Cup tie.
It was a baffling team selection from Moyes, and a really poor performance from pretty much every single player in claret and blue, aside from Edson Alvarez, Vladimir Coufal and Jarrod Bowen. In addition to those names, Mohammed Kudus looked like he at least tried.
Some of the defending on display from the visitors at Anfield really was comical at times, and Moyes singled out two players in particular for criticism after the game, without directly naming them!
David Moyes unhappy after Liverpool vs West Ham
Despite our woeful performance inside the first 45 minutes, we we still in the game at just 1-0 down until disaster struck in the 56th minute.
Our defence parted like the Red Sea as Curtis Jones raced clear of Angelo Ogbonna, before slotting the ball through the legs of Alphonse Areola.
The game was dead and buried in that instant, and Moyes told reporters just how poor it was to give away a goal like that, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“We gave away a dreadful second goal which, for me, was the biggest key. We had hung in the game in the first-half. We went in one goal down and we still had a chance, we knew that, and I actually thought we were starting to grow into the game. But then we gave away a really shabby second goal.”
Despite the fact that Moyes hasn’t directly named any names there, it’s very clear to see who he’s talking about, considering the roles played by the Italian and Frenchman in conceding the goal.
Ogbonna clearly shouldn’t be playing at the very highest level anymore. His legs have gone and he is exposed far too often when the ball is played in behind – just like when Darwin Nunez played Jones through 10 minutes into the second-half last night.
However, the Liverpool man still had a lot to do – he was pretty much hugging the byline as he closed in on goal. Areola had the near post covered, but actually, he didn’t did he!
Jones nutmegged the Frenchman and made it 2-0 on the night. It was horrendous defending from Ogbonna and really poor goalkeeping from Areola.
West Ham have to put things right against Manchester United on Saturday, but David Moyes will surely still be regretting the lineup that he selected for the Liverpool game, regardless of whether or not we pick up three points this weekend.
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