"I needed to do it, and I was really happy that I did it."
Dejan Lovren has admitted he went to Anfield to celebrate Liverpool's Premier League title victory with the fans despite the club instructing players not to.
Liverpool players watched the decisive game together as Chelsea hosted Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, winning 2-1 and handing Liverpool their first ever Premier League title.
Lovren, who recently left Liverpool to join Zenit St Petersburg, could not resist the chance to go and experience the atmosphere outside Anfield, he told Russian journalist Vladimir Kolos.
"They told us, 'Guys, don't go to the stadium because we will have problems, we cannot keep you safe'," Lovren said.
"I said go myself, 'it's 12 o'clock, it's too early to sleep. I will take the car and I'll go to Anfield, just to experience this.'
"I drove myself there, my God. Tens of thousands of people celebrating. I just wanted to feel this emotion because we didn't have a good celebration in the stadium.
"I needed to do it, and I was really happy that I did it."
https://twitter.com/kolos_vladimir/status/1295739394087944203
Asked whether anyone recognised him Lovren said: "Maybe three people, just because I had my mask down to see my phone, and in this second, four of them saw me."
The defender then clarified that he was alone, but told goalkeeper Adrian that he was going.
Is it understandable that he would want to go and join in with the celebrations given Liverpool had to play in empty stadiums and were denied the chance to lift the trophy in front of their fans? Yes. Should he have gone? Almost certainly not.
But hey, we shouldn't really expect better from a man who regularly likes Donald Trump's tweets.
