You could not fault any of Liverpool's players against Manchester City on Tuesday night.

Each and every player in a red shirt was absolutely superb.

But one name that stood out for most fans was Dejan Lovren.

The Croatian defender was absolutely superb from start to finish. He has had his fair share of critics since joining Liverpool in 2014, but he was rock solid alongside Virgil van Dijk on Tuesday night.

The 28-year-old was the man of the match in the eyes of many Liverpool fans, with some even suggesting he had his best night in a red shirt since he joined four years ago.

HIS ACTIONS AT HALF-TIME

But Lovren was not just impressive on the pitch, he also took a vital role off it.

Liverpool were struggling massively going into the half-time break. They were only 1-0 down, but in reality, it could have been a few more.

The Reds needed to up their game, and Lovren knew it.

So what did he do?

Well, the former Southampton man took a vocal role in the dressing room. He knew that their performance was not good enough, so he did his best to motivate his side with some inspiring words.

"To be honest I was shouting a bit at half-time,” said Lovren, per the Liverpool Echo. “I told the lads to wake up because it was not good enough and I said we were sitting too deep.

“Of course, Klopp said 'Yes you are sitting too deep because you are not pushing up'.

“He wanted me and Virg (Van Dijk) to be more compact and push the team up but it was quite difficult you know to push up when City had the ball.

“It was all positive, there was nothing negative, but I needed to remind the guys that we had 50 minutes to be in the semi-finals of the Champions League and we needed to give more. 

“The first 10-15 minutes wasn't good enough. When you see the second half, again they had a couple of chances but nothing too serious.”

That's great to see. Lovren's words clearly had the desired effect, as Liverpool went on to score two unanswered goals in the second half to triumph 2-1.

It sounds like he was crucial both on and off the pitch for Liverpool on Tuesday night.

LOVREN THINKS LIVERPOOL DESERVE MORE RESPECT

Lovren also added that Liverpool deserve more respect for the result.

“When you concede one goal and score five against Manchester City I think we should respect Liverpool more,” said the centre-back.

“People talked from the beginning about Manchester City being favourites and they were favourites but I think after this there should be more respect for Liverpool.”

Maybe he has a point. Liverpool may well have knocked out the best side in the competition, meaning they must be considered real contenders to lift the trophy in May.

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