Liverpool vs Real Madrid: Dejan Lovren insists Liverpool aren't scared of Cristiano Ronaldo and co

The defender's comments come despite worrying performance against QPR

Liverpool were grouped together with Real Madrid in the draw (GETTY IMAGES)

The Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren has said his team-mates are “not afraid” of the reigning European champions Real Madrid, who they face on Wednesday night in the Champions League at Anfield.

Lovren was speaking after Liverpool’s 3-2 win at Queen’s Park Rangers, one in which his side struggled for long periods of the game before eventually getting the better of the home side with a winner four minutes into injury time. Lovren said: “[Playing Madrid] is not daunting, it’s a pleasure to play against these players. I am not afraid. No one in our team is afraid.

“We respect their players but we will show something completely different. We will not play like that against Real Madrid, you can be sure of that. We cannot play like this because we know what we can expect from Real Madrid. Their players, we know who they are and we will prepare a little bit different.

“We need to be more compact, to run more, we need to be like one player on the pitch, all together, to breathe the same. We have amazing individual players, but we need to show it like a team.”

Lovren, who has faced Real Madrid before in his time at Lyons, said that Liverpool’s “first half was as bad we’ve played in the opening eight games”. He added: “I was glad it was over because I think one minute more and it would have been 3-3. It’s the first time in my career I was unhappy after the game, even though we won, because we didn’t play well.”

Gareth Bale is a doubt for Real after injuring an upper thigh muscle.