LIVERPOOL DEFENDER Dejan Lovren “makes too many mistakes” and needs greater competition for his place, according to John Arne Riise.
Jurgen Klopp’s men booked a return to the Champions League group stage with a 4-2 win at home to Hoffenheim on Wednesday sealing a 6-3 aggregate success.
Lovren started alongside Joel Matip in the centre of defence and gave the ball away cheaply for the German visitors’ first goal, while he was beaten in the air for their second.
Riise, who spent seven seasons at Anfield and won a Champions League with the club, questioned the Croatia international.
“Surely we have or there is [a] better CB than Lovren? He makes too many mistakes,” the Norwegian tweeted.
“He said he wanted to show he is one of the best in PL?? Well..
“I think Lovren needs more competition or more pressure to get to his best. Look at [Alberto] Moreno, stepped up and proves he’s got it.”
Liverpool have been linked to Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk throughout the close-season, but appear set to miss out on the defender.
I think the GK is not fully confident and that can have a huge affect on the defenders. The young lad at RB last night looks a tidy player.
@Nollaig Elliot: he’s going to be a great player I think, he’s prone to being caught out too easy as well though. Still if they continue scoring more goals than the opposition we can’t give out too much..
@Nollaig Elliot: agree
@Paul Mallon: agreed nollaigh. The keeper and lovren badly need to be replaced. No sign of a keeper coming but hopefully they get hoewdes at least, if not VVD. Great going forward though, the season will be an absolute rollercoaster
@Paul Mallon: if LFC are taking any player from Southampton, it should be Fraser Forster. Dominates his six yard box, and bosses his defenders.
Mignolet is a good shot stopper period, any crosses coming into the box are however an absolute lottery (as shown again last night the one time he came off his line to try lunch one clear).
Defence absolutely starts from the Keeper out, in rugby terms defensively he’s the number eight at the back of a scrum i.e. anchors the scrum so it doesn’t get loose and can be disrupted by oppo, looks for any danger on oppo possession and smashes it, launches quick attack when his team wins possesion.
@Nollaig Elliot: true but you get the impression Klopp will be too stubborn to go beyond Mignolet and Karius
@j lad: Not sure if its stubborness. I reckon the CL playoff had a lot to do with it also. Players could be holding out to see if they qualified. With VVD his hands were tied. The player wanted the move but Southampton weren’t budging. Like Ronan said above, Forester should be the main target.
Get Howedes and Van DIJK
@Ollie Watson: Howedes not the answer.not reliable and if he was good enough he’d have got his big move before 29 years old
@j lad: you don’t know what you are talking about. Höwedes is a class act on and off the pitch, a World Cup winner who played every minute of every game. An outstanding leader and role model who turned down the big bucks of Bayern and Arsenal a couple of years ago to stay with his home town club so as he could “give something back”. He’d be a great signing for Liverpool and Kloop knows him well.
@Bob Cummings: Howedes can’t make Schalke team.
@John Buckley: only fit after a a few months out with injury. It seems the new coach will invest in youth, Goretzka to go as well.
I’m struggling to understand Klopps logic. Played Milner at LB all last season, drops 10m on Robertson to put him on the bench in favor of the guy who is clearly a liability! TAA is a decent rb and will do well but watching the keystone cops on his left can’t be inspiring for him. The right seems ok but the left is clearly a problem. Need a center half in and Robertson to get a run of games. Once Coutinho and Lalanna come back midfield will be sorted and the top 3 look awesome….
At this stage Klavan is a better option than Lovern. Klopp can’t start Lovern against Arsenal.
@raymond flynn: klavan has always been the better option but the fact we didnt pay 20m for him meant he gets little enough fair play , 1 poor game and he is benched again whereas lovern gets chance after chance
@Michael Coghlan: Klavan is the worst of them. Brian Kerr said that when he managed the Faroe Islands, they targeted Klavan as he was so bad. Gomez is a centre half or Conor Masterson – may be 18 but Klopp is constantly singing his praises.
@John Buckley: https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.balls.ie/amp/football/ragnar-klavan-343603
@Dan: heard Kerr say it on RTE, didn’t realise he said it on Today fm as well. I have good time for Kerr so disappointing to see him get it so wrong, very funny though. Klavan still a terrible centre half.
@John Buckley: fair enough , I never said Kagan was great but he isn’t as bad as Kerr made out and is definitely better than lovern
Klopp said something after the match last night that gave off the impression a few players were lined up to join pending qualification for the group stages.even though us fans prob hope for 5 in we’ll prob end up with 1 or 2
@j lad: id take 1 or 2 in a heartbeat at this stage of the window.
@j lad: didn’t give any impressions only that CL is important when trying to sign a player or extend a player’s contract or keep a player which I feel it was more directed at without mentioning Coutinho
@The Chameleon: ‘Klopp reveals transfer boost’
http://www.skysports.com/share/11002599 i think he mean’t potential signings aswell as a dig at players holding back on signing new contracts
@Max Power: 1 or 2 only good enough if it’s a combination of centre backs,keeper,holding midfielder
@j lad: must be true if sky are saying it
Lovren : cant tackle, cant head, cant mark, not physical, no pace, a wimp, and gets a 5year contract !
@Mrs. Nugent: deadly isn’t it !