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Klopp explains why he chose to leave out 30-year-old Liverpool star for Napoli clash

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By Saiyed Adeem Karim

Jurgen Klopp explains decision to leave out Dejan Lovren against Napoli

Dejan Lovren hasn’t played a single minute for us this season after being linked with an exit from Liverpool in the summer (h/t Express).

The Croatian has fallen down the pecking order since the rise of Joel Matip and Joe Gomez, and was even left out of the squad for the trip to Napoli.

Liverpool start the defence of their Champions League crown against the Italian giants but Lovren will not feature in the team.

Jurgen Klopp explained his decision to leave Lovren out of the team but suggested that this was a tactical move (h/t Express):

“As an example, Dejan Lovren is not in the squad and I have no explanation for that other than two centre halves on the bench is probably not necessary.”

Klopp also highlighted that Xherdan Shaqiri was brought in as he provides options for a few positions and adds to the creativity of the team.

Tough times for Lovren

The 30-year-old will have to fight for a place in the starting XI and that will not be easy given the form of Matip and Virgil van Dijk.

The pair has been excellent over the past nine months or so and has helped us to a great start in the Premier League.

Dejan Lovren and Mohamed Salah
Dejan Lovren and Mohamed Salah

It will be interesting to see if Lovren gets a few games in the domestic cup competitions.

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Liverpool have a couple of young guns in Sepp van den Berg and Ki-Jana Hoever, who could feature in the first-team.