Lovren: “It’s Always Great to Beat Manchester United”

Dejan Lovren arrived at Liverpool as the club’s most expensive ever defensive signing, forcing out fan favourite Daniel Agger in the process. Both expectations and doubts were sky high for the Croatian international, and in his first year and a half at the club it’s probably fair to say he failed at meeting the first and added to the second.

Following the arrival of manager Jürgen Klopp in the autumn, though, Lovren has slowly and steadily improved the level of his performances to the point where there’s a case to be made for him having been the club’s best defender this season. Brimming with confidence, he’s looking forward to Thursday’s Europa League clash with Manchester United.

"We’re in good form so we have a lot of confidence," Lovren told the club’s official website. "We just need to keep playing like this and the result will come. It’s an important game because it’s the Europa League and we want to go to the final. It’s a special game because it’s a derby and it’s always great to beat Manchester United in any competition."

Liverpool haven’t done so well against United in the league this season, having lost both matches in domestic play, but the players could well argue they deserved more from both games. Add in the recent form of the two clubs—Liverpool on a high and United struggling—and the Reds are feeling confident they can get the right results this time out.

"We had amazing support the last two games," the defender added. "They’ve been amazing [the fans] but we don’t need to say what it will be against Man United. We know it’s a big derby and we know the fight through history against the two teams so the fans, I think, will enjoy it."