Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has joked that international teammate Dejan Lovren is the reason why Liverpool will not win the Premier League title this season.
Both players are currently away with Croatia on international duty, with the Balkan nation set to face Spain and England in the UEFA Nations League over the next two weeks.
Speaking to the Croatian media ahead of that double-header, Kovacic has now delivered a sly dig towards Lovren with the two players both in with a chance of winning the Premier League title this season.
Speaking to 24 Sata while taking part in a charity event with teammates, Kovacic said: “Liverpool will not be champions of England. Why? Well because they have Dejan Lovren.”
OPINION
The funny thing about this sly dig from Kovacic is that there will be those out there who agree. Despite his vast improvement over the last year or so – since he was hauled off in the first half against Tottenham after a nightmare performance – Lovren is still not the most consistent performer for Liverpool in defence. The Croatia international has since lost his starting place to Joe Gomez, who is putting in some brilliant display alongside Virgil van Dijk. However, over the course of a long season, Lovren will inevitably have his part to play, and whether the Reds can rely upon him is yet to be seen. Liverpool will need to be all-but-flawless from now until the end of the season if they want to topple leaders Manchester City, and one single mistake, from Lovren or anyone else, could end up derailing their bid for the Premier League title.
