Dejan Lovren buoyed by 'positive' partnership with Liverpool team-mate Virgil van Dijk
Friday 9 March 2018 07:52, UK
Dejan Lovren believes Liverpool's attacking style of play has occasionally left him exposed against the Premier League's top strikers, but insists his blossoming defensive partnership with Virgil van Dijk is good news for the Reds.
Liverpool have caught the eye with their attacking performances this season after scoring 67 goals in just 29 league games, but the Reds have also shown sign signs of defensive frailty - particularly before the £75m arrival of Van Dijk in January.
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Lovren came in for criticism for his below-par performances earlier in the season and was hauled off after just 31 minutes in a 4-1 defeat to Tottenham in October.
However, the Croatia international has fought his way back into the first team and has begun to form a solid partnership with Van Dijk - conceding just one goal in the last five matches in all competitions
"It is always good to hear some positive things but at the end, if the manager chooses someone else then you are disappointed," said Lovren.
"I think we did quite well, me and him in the last couple of games when we played. We understood each other quite well and hopefully, we can do it also in the future like that.
"I said many times I don't know one player who doesn't make a mistake, especially a defender and especially how we play at Liverpool.
"We play really offensive football and sometimes you are one against one against top strikers and top strikers. They need just one chance from 10 and if they score then they will blame you or someone else.
"I had many times these wrong decisions that I made, sometimes I can accept it sometimes not because football is like that - but in the end, it depends on yourself and whether you are ready to move on or not."
Lovren admits is he was affected by off-field issues earlier in the season after receiving death threats to his family on social media, while burglars also targeted his home, with his wife and two children inside, while he was at Liverpool's Champions League match against Maribor.
"It was horrific," he said of the attempted burglary. "People look at football and they don't look what is going on around the life.
"Some people can understand that, some people not, but in these difficult situations, I saw the support from some really good people like the manager, the club, my team-mates and of course the supporters who are ready always to support you.
"It is not easy because we are also humans and everyone has problems. I am giving my best to have a quiet life around myself but sometimes it doesn't depend on myself because people just want to come into my home and steal things.
"I think I responded quite well even with some different things around my life: burglars and things like that, so it wasn't quite easy for me especially in October."
Liverpool face rivals Manchester United on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Premier League, and Lovren is relishing the chance to face Romelu Lukaku.
Lovren accused Lukaku of stamping on him during the 0-0 draw at Anfield earlier in the season, but the Croatian insists the matter is now in the past.
"It is over. There is another game," he said. "I enjoy playing against big top strikers and the biggest challenge for me is when you have Mo Salah and [Sadio] Mane at the training ground and then you know what you are.
"Definitely Lukaku is one of the best strikers in the Premier League, he showed many times."
