Liverpool defender claims Lukaku stamp was ‘on purpose’

LIVERPOOL defender Dejan Lovren accused Romelu Lukaku of deliberately stamping on his face, despite the English Football Association (FA) deciding there was no case to answer after reviewing an incident in Saturday’s goalless draw with Manchester United.

Lovren writhed in pain, claiming he was targeted by the Belgian in the first half at Anfield but, after studying video evidence, the FA determined Lukaku would not be punished.

The Croatian defender, preparing for his side’s Champions League tie in Slovenia tonight, stood by his allegation.

“I made a tackle there. I just felt he was over me and he could move away but, to be honest, my point of view is that he did it on purpose,” said Lovren (below).

“It was on the face. Even if he did it normally, he would apologise after that, but I saw he was nervous during the game so maybe that was also the reason.”

Asked about the decision not to take disciplinary action, Lovren said: “That happened on the pitch and it is over. I cannot change it and no one can change it, so that is what I am thinking about.

“This is not my decision. I cannot say I am disappointed, but it is what it is. We need to move on. That is football, part of the game.”

With one win in their past eight fixtures, Liverpool arrived in Maribor badly in need of victory to preserve their Champions League hopes.

Manager Jurgen Klopp will not make many changes to his side, although Alex OxladeChamberlain is pushing for a start following an impressive cameo over the weekend.

“It is a moment now where all of us have rhythm, so the last thing I would do is come here to rotate in a game like this where already everybody is saying, ‘that’s the easy one’ in the group,” he said.

“And then I come with six or seven changes? No, we respect this opponent, we know it is unbelievably important for us, so nobody should expect 11 changes.

“The Manchester United game was not that intense because it was like it was. We don’t have to rotate because of intensity physically.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain would come into contention if, as expected, Klopp decided to use Philippe Coutinho in a deeper midfield role. The manager believes the £35 million (€39m) signing from Arsenal is ready after a difficult period in which he has started just once.

“He is a big signing for us, obviously, but a fast player like him needs the circumstances to perform, so he needed time,” said Klopp.

“Apart from Mo Salah who we have been working with for four or five months, the rest have been together with me for pretty much 15-16 months and that makes a big difference,” Klopp said.

“So far, it has been OK but not what we know he is able to do. But then Saturday, bang – comes on, uses his speed, really spot on, it was a very nice sign. I loved to see it. I was not only happy about his offensive situation a lot, I also liked the way he reacted after we lost the ball.

“At the moment, he is training only on the wing, but it is not fixed for the next five years. “Obviously, it is a different style to Arsenal and a different role to the wing-back role he played in his last games for Arsenal.

“Then he plays for England and they all come back from their national teams not confused, but with different plans.

“That is not too simple. I would say there has been no consistency until now. “We let him run so far, let him do what he is naturally good at and it will take time, but it’s all good. He is obviously powerful and that is what we need.”

Maribor coach Darko Milanic, who endured a disastrous 32-day spell in charge of Leeds three years ago, accepts his side face a tough task.

Maribor are unbeaten in eight European home fixtures – winning five – and have lost just three of their last 14 games, home and away, but they have not won any of their seven home matches in the Champions League group stage.

“It’s hard to speak of weaknesses in opponents like these,” he said.

“They can have problems when they lose the ball, that could be our opportunity, but they have quality and pace.

“We have a good record against English teams (they have won one and drawn two at home) so we can be optimistic.

“I hope this fact will give the players an extra lift on the field. Every little bit helps.”

Maribor v Liverpool, live, BT Sport ESPN, 7.45