Dejan Lovren has admitted that he joked with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain claiming his second goal in Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Genk was lucky.
The Croatian international shared that the 26-year-old didn’t agree with his view after curling an effort in the top corner with the outside of his boot against the Belgian side on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Lovren did admit it was great to have Oxlade-Chamberlain back for the Reds in midfield, and even better that the two goals will give him even more confidence moving forward.
“I’m really glad to see Ox score two goals, even if I told him the second one was lucky … he didn’t accept that!” he told the club’s official website on Friday.
“[It’s] great for his confidence and overall he needed that after he did not have so many minutes this season and the injury for last season. It’s great to have him back.”
OPINION
Oxlade-Chamberlain was exceptional against Genk on Wednesday, starting the game in the perfect manner when opening the scoring with an extremely calm finish into the bottom corner. His second goal, under examination by Lovren, was even better – it was unstoppable and the 26-year-old highlighted just how effective he can be when pushing forward from midfield. There have always been questions surrounding whether or not the Reds’ midfielders can offer suitable support to their prolific front three by adding more goals and assists, and Oxlade-Chamberlain more than proved that he is capable of doing that going forward. Lovren may have been joking around but he went on to admit that having his teammate back is great, and the whole squad will surely have been boosted by his presence this season, and could even act as a new signing for Jurgen Klopp’s side in this campaign, especially if he can continue the form that he had on Wednesday more consistently.
