Liverpool have taken great strides under Jurgen Klopp during this calendar year and one of the players who has thrived over the past few months has been Dejan Lovren. The 29-year-old was part of the Croatian national team which created history by managing to get to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final. His responsibilities for his nation saw him miss pre-season and make a late return to the Merseyside club. However, the Croat centre-back is now likely to play second fiddle to Joe Gomez and Virgil Van Dijk, after the defensive duo made a great start to this Premier League campaign.
Liverpool’s Recent Dominance Has Not Helped Lovren’s Cause
The Reds of Merseyside have made an impressive start to their league campaign after emerging victorious in each of their first four matches in the English top-flight. Surprisingly, most of their wins have been based on strong defensive displays with Gomez and Van Dijk earning a lot of praises for their resolute performances so far.
Gomez’s rapid rise has seen Lovren fall down the Anfield pecking order and it should be expected that Klopp would use him as a back-up for the upcoming matches. The Croatian international would also have to compete with Joel Matip for a place on the bench, so Lovren has a lot of work to do if he wants to get back to playing on a weekly basis for the Merseyside outfit.
Does Lovren Deserve To Start For Liverpool?
Lovren has proven his worth through his outstanding performance for the Reds in the UEFA Champions League final before leading Croatia to their first ever World Cup final in Russia earlier this summer. However, he is still lacking match fitness and needs to justify his value once again if he wants to earn a place back in Klopp’s starting XI.
It won’t be easy to beat Gomez for a first-team spot, but the fact that Lovren has a wealth of experience on his side might help his chances of landing an opportunity in the coming weeks, with fixtures coming thick and fast for Liverpool across all competitions.
What Should Be Klopp’s Play Here?
The Croatian is arguably more dominant than Gomez aerially but always has a mistake in him which is why Klopp should stick with the English centre-back for the time being. As long as the Reds can keep clean sheets, Klopp is likely to stick with the same back five so only time will tell if Lovren can sneak back into Klopp’s senior team in the coming weeks.
