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Dejan Lovren accuses Romelu Lukaku of deliberately stamping on his face

Dejan Lovren is convinced that Romelu Lukaku deliberately stood on his face in a coming together during Liverpool vs Man Utd - AFP
Dejan Lovren is convinced that Romelu Lukaku deliberately stood on his face in a coming together during Liverpool vs Man Utd - AFP

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren accused Romelu Lukaku of a deliberate stamp on his face, despite the Football Association deciding there was no case to answer after reviewing an incident in Saturday’s goalless draw with Manchester United.

Lovren writhed in pain after claiming he was targeted by the Belgian in the first half at Anfield, but after studying video evidence the FA determined Lukaku will not be punished.

The Croatian defender, preparing for his side’s Champions League tie in Slovenia on Tuesday, stood by his allegation.

“I made a tackle there. I just felt he was over me and he could move away but to be honest my point of view is that he did it on purpose,” said Lovren.

“It was on the face. Even if he did it normally he would apologise after that but I saw he was nervous during the game so maybe that was also the reason.”

Romelu Lukaku stamp
TV replays haven't helped clear the matter up

Asked about the decision not to take disciplinary action, Lovren said:

That happened on the pitch and it is over. I cannot change it and no-one can change it so that is what I am thinking about.

“This is not my decision. I cannot say I am disappointed but it is what it is. We need to move on. That is football, part of the game."

Lovren and Liverpool have come under criticism for their defending this season, but the centre-half said the team would take confidence from shutting out United last weekend.

“When we talk about clean sheets for me and the team it is more important we defend all together and we are focused straight away when we lose the ball,” he said.

“When we defended against Manchester United we did not even allow them to cross the centre of the pitch. We showed we can do it and now we have to show it against every team all season.

“There is frustration after the game. They played like they played. We had chances we did not score. After each game have to take the positive out and show we can play against big teams even if they are deep.”