Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk makes Sergio Ramos dig amid Dejan Lovren feud and reveals who his favourite defender is
VIRGIL VAN DIJK has slammed Sergio Ramos as "not his type of central defender" as Liverpool's animosity towards the Real Madrid man grows.
The Spaniard is a bit of a hate figure at Anfield after appearing to deliberately injure star man Mo Salah in last season's Champions League final.
The Egyptian left the field in floods of tears after 30 minutes with a dislocated shoulder after his tussle with uncompromising Ramos.
The Spaniard insists there was nothing malicious in the challenge.
Dejan Lovren was one Reds player in particular who has been seen to fume at Ramos since the the Euro final.
The Croatian believes the Spaniard's talented team-mates time and again have bailed him out over the years, saying he is afforded no such luxury.
And seemingly Van Dijk agrees with his defensive partner, highlighting one player in particular who covers for Ramos.
Speaking to Dutch newspaper , the 27-year-old said: "He is a great player and I respect what he has achieved but he is not the best, he is not my type of central defender.
"Ramos' teammate at Real Madrid, Raphael Varane is my favourite. He is an excellent defender and has already won a lot."
Lovren continued his own war of words with Ramos, albeit one-sided, after Croatia's dramatic 3-2 Uefa Nations League win over Spain on Thursday.
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The pair have been at each other since the Champions League final when Ramos crocked Mohamed Salah, before going on to mock the reaction to his challenge.
Lovren was not buying into the notion the Real Madrid skipper is one of the best defenders in the business and suggested he is lucky to play for a team in a league where his errors are not that costly.
The Croatians wildly celebrated in their dressing room with Lovren getting stuck in on Instagram live.
He seemed concerned about aiming another dig at Ramos saying "elbowed him good"; while making a similar motion with his arm.
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NO LOV LOST FOR RAMOS FROM DEJAN
DEJAN LOVREN believes Sergio Ramos' talented team-mates time and again have bailed him out over the years, saying he is afforded no such luxury.
Lovren was having a pop at Ramos as Liverpool's war with the notorious defender rages on following his incident with Mohamed Salah in May's Champions League final.
Reds players and fans are still fuming Ramos appeared to cynically haul Salah to the ground, ruling him out of the rest of the match and part of the World Cup.
Lovren has said: “If you look, Ramos, he has many more mistakes than me but he’s at Real Madrid.
“With Ronaldo, when you make a mistake, it’s 5-1, 5-2 and nobody sees the mistake. I’m quite unlucky, when I make the mistake it’s 1-0.
"When I do a mistake I don’t talk to anyone, not even my wife... you don’t know how it is.
“I like [Raphael] Varane, he deserves a lot of credit but he doesn’t get it as much. Ramos get it, I don’t agree with that.”
Asked if Lovren considered Varane to be a better player than club team-mate Ramos, the Liverpool man said: “Definitely".
Lovren went on to say: "Haha! 3-2! Go ahead and talk now buddy. Buddy!
“They are a bunch of p******”.
He was at it again on Instagram the morning after the night before, posting a picture of him winning a header above Ramos, alongside the caption: "Good morning Croatia".