Alessandro Diamanti has spoken of the "great emotion" he felt to find the net in his first senior match at home for West Ham United.
The Italian attacker kept his nerve to score from a penalty on 29 minutes. It was by no means a straightforward spot-kick as he admitted he slipped as he deliberately looped the ball into the centre of the net. That made it 1-1 but the sides would trade another goal apiece before Fernando Torres headed a cruel late winner.
"Obviously I'm happy for the goal but I'm sorry for the result as well," said Diamanti, who was making his first top-flight start since a 23 August fixture in Serie A with previous club AS Livorno Calcio. Gianfranco Zola confirmed that the 26-year-old was given the penalty-taking duties before the match.
"We knew it would be a tough match, Liverpool are one of the best clubs in the Premier League. But I think we have been quite unlucky because we played very well and we deserved more. Liverpool were not better than us.
"It's been a great emotion to score in my first match at home. I think I played well, especially in the first half," added Diamanti, who was not alone in tiring after the interval in what was a whirlwind introduction to life in the English top flight. "I tried to be focused and do what the coach asked me before the match. It's a pity we lost because we wanted to give joy to our fans."