Lovren slams Lukaku for ‘deliberate’ stamp on face
Defender frustrated after rival is cleared by the FA Oxlade-chamberlain in line for Liverpool start
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren accused Romelu Lukaku of deliberately stamping on his face, despite the Football Association 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.
“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. Jurgen Klopp, the manager, will not make many changes to his side, although Alex Oxlade-chamberlain 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 £35million signing from Arsenal is ready after a difficult period in which he has started just one game.
“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.
“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.”