Liverpool vs West Ham: Slaven Bilic dedicates point to people of Turkey following Istanbul terror attacks

A succession of bombs were set on police officers outside the stadium of Besiktas – the club Bilić used to manage - on Saturday night, killing 38 people and injuring many more

“What happened there is unbelievable,” Bilić said. “The Turkish people are the best I’ve ever met. It’s very sad what’s happening in one of the best cities and one of the best countries" (Getty)

An emotional Slaven Bilić dedicated the point gained by West Ham in their 2-2 draw with Liverpool to the people of Turkey following terror attacks in Istanbul.

A succession of bombs were set on police officers outside the stadium of Besiktas – the club Bilić used to manage - on Saturday night, killing 38 people and injuring many more.

“What happened there is unbelievable,” Bilić said. “The Turkish people are the best I’ve ever met. It’s very sad what’s happening in one of the best cities and one of the best countries. The nature of the people is so good, so friendly and so warm. It’s tearing me apart. I offer my condolences to the families of the all the victims.”

Bilić, whose team were thrashed by Arsenal last week, were worth at least a point at Anfield, having responded to Adam Lallana's opener to lead 2-1 at half-time thanks to goals from Dimitri Payet and Michail Antonio.

Divock Origi’s equaliser secured a draw for Liverpool, one that means Jürgen Klopp’s side are now six points behind Chelsea. A month ago, they were top of the league but Klopp does not believe Liverpool’s title challenge is faltering.

“It's difficult to stay in the race with Chelsea when they win everything and we don’t,” he said.

“But I don't think about it. When we were first or second, I wasn't thinking about it. This is the moment to collect points as much as possible.

Jurgen Klopp's men are now without a win in their last two games (Chris Stading)

“The season is very long, and as everybody knows the most intense time is coming now.

Klopp added: “Our expectation is that we are in the top region of the table and that's where we want to be in the decisive part of the season, and then we can talk about what's possible.”