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Dejan Lovren has beaten the boo-boys... by using his brain.

The Croatian arrived at Liverpool with a massive £20million price-tag... and even more massive expectation, as the Kop thought they were welcoming one of the most composed defenders in the world.

Yet centre-back Lovren endured a nightmare in his first year which many critics thought would prove the death knell to his Anfield career, as he was targeted by angry fans.

It has taken him 18 months to settle at the club, but his supreme performance away to Borussia Dortmund on Thursday to put the Reds on the verge of a Europa League semi-final proved he has now done just that under Jurgen Klopp.

And Lovren puts it down to using his head and learning from the mistakes that almost crippled his Reds tenure.

Watch — Liverpool boss Klopp's verdict on their draw in Dortmund:

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“I think I am a little bit cleverer now. I am more experienced today,” he said after his man of the match performance in Germany. “It was difficult for me, but I have just concentrated on my game and my defensive things and it is okay.

"I will do everything for my team, but I think I have learned from my mistakes.”

Lovren is completely transformed from the player the Kop club's fans chose to hate after his disastrous first season, when he was heralded as the next Alan Hansen but performed more like Torben Piechnik.

Yet in Dortmund’s imposing stadium the former Southampton man offered the supreme performance, leading from the front to snuff out one of the most dangerous attacks in Europe and encouraging yet more plaudits from a fan-base that has changed its mind about him.

(Image: Liverpool FC/Getty)

And he is confident his side will now complete the job in the return leg at Anfield next week... because he believes the Kop will be even more intimidating than their counterparts on the famous Yellow Wall.

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“It was a great atmosphere: they had the 12th man but we will have the 12th man at Anfield so it will be a different game with our supporters. I think we will beat them in the atmosphere stakes,” he said with a smile.

“It was a good result for us. I think we can be a little disappointed because we could have taken the game 1-0 and it would be a perfect game for us but we just lost a little bit of concentration on the cross.

“It is okay for us though, everything is still open.

In pictures — Liverpool draw with Dortmund in quarter-final's first leg:

"They have a good team and have been playing well here in Germany, but I think it will be a different game at Anfield.”

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It was Lovren’s centre-back partnership with Mamadou Sakho that was the most impressive feature of a sound defensive performance in Dortmund.

But as the defender prepares for the quick turnaround leading to Stoke's Sunday visit to Anfield, he believes it is the way Liverpool now defend from front to back as a team that has made the difference.

“The partnership with Mama is a good. But we are a team, every guy is important - even the 25th guy in the stand,” he said.

(Image: Reuters)

“After a few games together it is much easier to understand each other and we hope to continue like that.

"Everyone had a great defensive record [on the night], from [striker] Origi to the goalkeeper.

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“I think it was a great effort from all of us and all it was missing was maybe Divock scoring the one-on-one against their goalkeeper at the end of the first half and it would have been very different again.”