Liverpool vs Barcelona: Dejan Lovren ‘angry and hungry’ to prove doubters wrong and inspire famous Champions League comeback

The Reds trail 3-0 after the first leg at the Nou Camp following a Lionel Messi double

Jack Rathborn
Monday 06 May 2019 09:24 BST
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Jurgen Klopp: Liverpool can do no more in title race

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Dejan Lovren admits he is “angry and hungry” about Liverpool being dismissed ahead of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.

The Reds lost 3-0 to the Spanish champions with Lionel Messi grabbing a double at the Nou Camp.

But after rallying late to beat Newcastle and keep their Premier League title hopes alive, Lovren believes the Anfield atmosphere can inspire a famous comeback against Barcelona.

“It makes me more angry. Angry and hungry to show them we are capable of doing something special at Anfield,” Lovren said.

“We have big players and big players should show in big games and I think this is one of those games on Tuesday so I expect one of the biggest games at Anfield.”

Mohamed Salah is now a doubt for the second leg after an injury in Saturday’s win at St James’ Park.

But Lovren claims Liverpool will “show balls” in pursuit of a way back into the tie.

“This is why we are Liverpool. This is why we are a unique club,” Lovren claimed.

“When people already said to us, ‘They are already done. They will not come through’, we always show the balls to produce the biggest comebacks.

“It doesn’t look from the result at the moment, because they are 3-0 up, but football is unpredictable – especially in the Champions League at Anfield.

“Of course, we will never just accept that we already lost. It is just one game. It will be quite a tough challenge after 3-0 but I remember we did it many times and Liverpool are quite famous for big comebacks.

Dejan Lovren insists Liverpool can rally against Barcelona (Getty Images)
Dejan Lovren insists Liverpool can rally against Barcelona (Getty Images) (Getty)

“I hope we can do it again but we need big, big support from the fans. This is, I think, the main thing. I hope Mo will be OK now after the knock because it doesn’t look good.

“We showed already many times we can play without Mo and also a couple of other players. But the most important thing is the crowd.

“We did it before against Dortmund, From Dortmund to now we have another 10,000 places more (extra capacity) – so 10,000 fans more – so it will be quite important.

Liverpool react after Lionel Messi scores
Liverpool react after Lionel Messi scores (Getty)

“The most important thing is to score quite early and if we can manage that then everything is possible. It will be a challenge but I believe at Anfield I believe in the supporters, I believe in this team.

“I hope we will have Mo back as he is quite important for us. Let us see what tactics we will have against Barca – we can maybe surprise them.”

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