22nd November 2017, a day that Dejan Lovren would want to efface from his memory. A day which would haunt him for a very long time. His visit to Wembley last Sunday to face Tottenham Hotspur in a crunch clash ended in shambles for the Croatian. Probably regarded as one of the worst performances by a Liverpool defender, the case speaks for itself as he was substituted in just about half an hour after the kick-off. This was following two horrendous mistakes by Lovren which Spurs assuredly pounced upon to go 2-0 up in the game.
The first being a horrible judgement on the centre-backs’ part that allowed Kane to secure his first goal at Wembley. While the second was an unconvincing attempt at a clearance header that went embarrassingly wrong, he had literally gifted a two-goal cushion for the hosts that put them firmly in the drivers’ seat.
A player at Liverpool Football Club just cannot afford to be so woeful on multiple occasions on any given day. Lovren’s time came to end when he was removed by Jurgen Klopp in an attempt to change the fortune of the game with the introduction of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
After such a shambolic performance in front of a record audience at Wembley, what is the next script in the Croatian’s career?
One can hardly see a way back for him into the team. The substitution in itself speaks volumes of the situation. Klopp is a man known to be patient with his players, having brushed aside mistakes on a number of instances. But there is a limit to the German’s tolerance on such issues.
For all we know, the lad could probably be on his way to find new suitors in January when the transfer window opens. The Wembley performance and criticism has made him remove his profile picture and Liverpool FC from his bio on his Instagram account. While this isn’t the greatest indicator as to how the Croatian feels, it sums up the mood that surrounds him at the moment.
Every footballer is known to have these kinds of days in the office. Ideally speaking, Dejan has to get on with things. Ultimately, the Croatian international has to put that performance behind and start his labour behind the scenes if he aspires to get his place into the team.
Although it would take a while for his boss to regain faith in him, the only route back in, is to put the yards in training. The out of sorts defender needs to realize the pressure and expectations that come along every time he walks out on the pitch in red. If he doesn’t, his time at Liverpool might soon be coming to a conclusion.
Will he regain his manager’s trust, or is he heading for the exit doors?
