Dejan Lovren Explains Why Liverpool Are Better Equipped Than Ever to Win the Title

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren says the Reds have found the final pieces to the puzzle, and are finally prepared to go the distance in the Premier League title

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren says the Reds have found the final pieces to the puzzle, and are finally prepared to go the distance in the Premier League title race, after falling just short of glory in recent years. 

Having made Europa League and Champions League finals with the Reds, and suffering defeat on each occasion, Lovren's wonderful finish against Newcastle on Saturday sent them on their way to a 4-0 win that would open up a six point gap between themselves and second placed Tottenham at the head of the division.

PAUL ELLIS/GettyImages

In doing so, the Reds have become slight favourites to win the Premier League outright, and Croatian centre-back Lovren says they are prepared for the run in. 

“I think we were previously lacking experience," he said, as quoted by the Liverpool Echo. “There are quite a lot of players still here and it was like a puzzle, you just keep bringing these players you missed and now I think it’s a perfect match.

“You feel that in the squad, it’s how it should be. There has always been something missing all these years but I think now we have everything.”

With Manchester City falling to a late defeat against Leicester while Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners at Anfield, the defending champions slipped to third place, seven points behind the leaders ahead of their clash on 3rd January.

The second Leicester goal seemed to spark celebrations around Anfield, lifting the atmosphere even further as belief grew that they may indeed pip City to first place, but Lovren insists the players had no idea about City's shortcomings until they returned to the dressing room. 

“Nobody knew to be honest. We just heard when we went in,” he added. “It was like: ‘What happened? Really? Again?’ But this is football, it can happen to everyone. We should learn from the mistakes of others.

James Baylis - AMA/GettyImages

“We know how in football everything changes quickly. For us, every game is a final. It’s good to hear all these positive words but we don’t live on these positive words, we live on winning games and that’s what matters.”