WE’LL W O R K HARD & K E E P OUR NERVE

Lovren sure Reds will bounce back in style

DEJAN LOVREN says Thursday night’s defeat at the Etihad marked a turning point in the title race – because it has made Liverpool even more determined to lift a first Premier League crown. Manchester City closed the gap at the top to four points with their 2-1 win, and snipers have suggested a first defeat of the season will trigger an Anfield collapse.

But Lovren, and centre-back partner Virgil van Dijk, reckon the disappointing Etihad result will have the opposite effect on Jurgen Klopp’s men.

“This is Liverpool and we will always come back when it’s tough,” said the Croatian international (above). “Of course it is tough, very disappointing, and we congratulate Manchester City. But I believe in this team and I don’t think the defeat will change anything.

“We have a strong mentality. We will keep our nerve.”

Had Liverpool won on Thursday they’d have gone 10 points clear of the champions – a lead that would have been almost unassailable given how few points the Reds dropped in the first half of the season.

But now bookies can barely split the big two at the top.

Yet, as Van Dijk (right) revealed, the talk in the Liverpool dressing room after the game was not about defeat. It was about the healthy lead they still hold after playing the champions twice already this season.

And Liverpool have already played the other three clubs in the top five away from home.

Klopp’s men have arguably the easier run-in but Van Dijk says what will will swing it Liverpool’s way is their mental toughness.

“We have a great mentality, we have shown that all season,” he said.

“We just have to keep on doing what we have been doing. There is no reason to change anything or panic.

“We talked about that in the dressing room and we will talk about it in more detail tomorrow. For now, the game is over. We lost, so it is about recovery.

“But there is no reason to panic.” In the Champions League Liverpool lost all three of their away games yet somehow still qualified from a tough group and Lovren reckons that shows they can bounce back from disappointment.

A late collapse in 2014 cost the Mersey men their chance of the title but Lovren says there is no need to question their nerve this time.

“People questioned us even before the season started,” he said. “Even now they are saying the defeat against City is a title decider.

“But it doesn’t work like that in football. Just as we kept calm when we were winning all those games, we will keep calm now.

“The message in the dressing room was to stay calm.

“We know it is a big season but we are still first in the table. Nothing has changed.”