“We never play for a point.”
Dejan Lovren is very proud of his team’s undeniably attacking brand of football and he insists that Liverpool will go all out for the win against Manchester United this weekend.
With much speculation about how United manager Jose Mourinho will set his team up against their free-scoring rivals at Old Trafford on Saturday, Lovren seized the opportunity to reference Mourinho’s reputation for parking the bus.
A master of gamesmanship, Mourinho has been known to set up his teams in quite a defensive manner at various stages of his career and he was criticised by many for holding out for a 0-0 draw with the Reds at Anfield earlier this season.
Lovren has claimed that he wouldn’t be surprised to see United sit deep and look to frustrate the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino again.
“Maybe they are not in the best shape, but still they win ugly,” Lovren told reporters. “What matters is the points. Last time, when they came here, they defended really deep so let’s see what happens now.”
The strategies that will be employed by Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp for the so-called ‘Battle for Second Place’ will make for fascinating viewing this weekend.
When asked if he expected Mourinho to play for a point despite the fact that United will be at home, Lovren said: “I think so. They need the points, definitely. For them it will be maybe a good point but for us, we never play for a point.
“We will play like we play every day, attacking football.
“Still, you know Mourinho has his own plans. It is our job to focus on ourselves and play how we hope to beat them.”
After stating that his team never plays for a draw and suggesting that United are much happier to do so, Lovren was pointed towards the Premier League table, where it is clear to see that Liverpool have almost twice as many draws as the Red Devils.
And while that’s certainly more down to the fact that Liverpool have been pegged back from winning positions on several occasions this term than it has to do with an explicit decision to settle for a point, United fans couldn’t help but reference the way that Klopp and his players celebrated a 2-2 draw with West Brom in 2015.
https://twitter.com/moutune/status/972102426823135232
Dejan Lovren: "Liverpool are not Manchester United – we don’t play just for a draw”
This season-
United- 5 draws
Liverpool- 9 draws— dan 🔰 (@United__Dan) March 9, 2018
Lovren "Liverpool are not man utd we don't play for draws"😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/SpmK4HRiNQ
— Jack g (@jgilly1991) March 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/Angrebear84/status/972117881088610305
Dejan Lovren: "Liverpool are not Manchester United – we don’t play just for a draw”
This season….
United – 5 draws
Liverpool – 9 draws 🤔 #MUFC— M³ (@M_X_3_) March 9, 2018
https://twitter.com/lewis_graydon/status/972086608559333377
