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Dejan Lovren believes Ross Barkley should have apologised for the reckless challenge which left the Liverpool defender writhing in agony.

The Everton midfielder was lucky to escape with a yellow card after planting his studs on Lovren's ankle just before half-time in Saturday's derby at Anfield.

Lovren was able to continue after treatment as he helped the Reds seal a comprehensive 3-1 victory.

“If I showed you my leg then there would be headlines tomorrow,” Lovren said.

“It was a tough challenge but we've seen it many times before. I don't want to talk about that because if I do it will be in all the newspapers.

“What can I say? The only thing I don't like is that if you make a hard challenge like that then come and say sorry or something like that, not talk with the referee and say it wasn't a foul.

“Everyone saw it. It's over and we won the game.”

Lovren, who shone on his first Premier League appearance since late January, believes Liverpool showcased their attacking class against Everton as goals from Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and substitute Divock Origi did the damage.

Coutinho was back to his brilliant best as he tormented the Blues' backline.

“Yeah, it was good to see,” Lovren admitted.

“Philippe and Roberto (Firmino) had a long, long flight back from Brazil.

“They didn't really even train with us – just a little session. They are such quality players they don't even need to train with us!

“Mane scored a brilliant goal and Roberto had a great game. Divock came on and scored a goal within a couple of minutes so we really showed our quality.”

Lovren also reserved special praise for long-serving midfielder Lucas Leiva, who emphatically repaid Jurgen Klopp's faith in handing him a recall following Adam Lallana's thigh injury.

“I have to say that Lucas was brilliant,” he added.

“He was playing like he's played 38 games already in a row this season.

“He was amazing. I was so happy about him and I think everyone felt the same.

“We knew it would be a tough game against Everton because their form has been very good.

“In derbies you never know what will happen but we showed our quality. In that first half they only had one chance from a corner.”

Victory strengthened Liverpool's grip on a Champions League spot. It was their final game of the campaign against top-seven opposition with the Reds registering seven wins and five draws in those matches.

Lovren believes injuries to key personnel cost the Reds a shot at the title this term but a top-four finish in within their grasp.

The Reds defender says they must play with the same intensity against lesser teams during the run-in – starting against Bournemouth at Anfield on Wednesday night.

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“If you hadn't had injuries I'd say you could be around the same place as Chelsea,” he said.

“I don't think Chelsea have even had one injury. Sometimes you need to be lucky.

“We played against Everton without Henderson and Lallana, who are massive players for us.

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“We need to be satisfied with the win but there are still a lot of games in front of us.

“We have another big game against Bournemouth on Wednesday. We lost there earlier in the season so that should act as a wake-up call for this game. We need to continue like this.

“There are a lot of points still to play for. We are in that top four and that's where we want to be come the end of the season.

“We need to show our quality in the other games. We need to take as many points as possible. If we want to play in the Champions League, we need to play like a Champions League team.”