Dejan Lovren has accused Romelu Lukaku of deliberately trying to injure him and claims the Manchester United striker’s actions prove he was in the wrong.
The Liverpool defender was left writhing and clutching his face, seemingly in agony, after a coming together with Lukaku towards the end of the first half of Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Anfield.
Referee Martin Atkinson took no action against Lukaku and that course was followed by the FA on Monday, as they decided the Belgium forward had done nothing wrong.
Lovren, however, was clearly disappointed they had come to that conclusion. The Croatian was of the opinion Lukaku kicked his face on purpose and felt the way he behaved subsequently backed up this point.
‘I made a tackle there,’ said Lovren after he arrived in Maribor on Monday night. ‘I just felt he was over me and he could move away but my view is that he did it on purpose. Even if he did it normally he would apologise after that. But I saw he was nervous during the game, so maybe that was the reason.
‘That happened on the pitch and it is over. I cannot change it and no one can change it, so that is what I am thinking about.
‘This is not my decision but it is what it is. We need to move on. That is part of the game.’
After receiving treatment, Lovren was able to see out the full game against United and he was one of Liverpool’s standout performers.
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