Liverpool 0-3 Watford: Another one takes the Naby Keita route

Another Liverpool player took the Naby Keita route as Watford beat the Reds 3-0 at Vicarage Road to end hopes of an invincible run.

Not making the most of rare chances to start and cement a place in the side seems to be a theme under Jurgen Klopp of late.

Naby Keita did it against West Ham and Liverpool nearly paid for it with a defeat, and now Dejan Lovren has been at it.

Joe Gomez was ruled out of the game with a minor muscle complain and so Lovren came into the side ahead of Joel Matip, which raised a few eyebrows at the time.

But a solid performance could have seen him keep that spot next to Virgil van Dijk over the next few weeks. We’ve seen it happen before and it wouldn’t be so odd if Klopp rewarded Lovren.

Naby Keita failed to make the most of the trust the gaffer placed in him and was dropped to the bench for his encounter as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was preferred in a move that could spell the beginning of the end for the Guinea international.

Similarly, could this be the last time we see Dejan Lovren in a Liverpool shirt? Alongside the usual suspects such as Adam Lallana and Xherdan Shaqiri, Degs is one who you could imagine being moved on in the summer.

It would have taken moments and performances in isolated matches to earn a chance to be a part of the squad moving forward, but he hasn’t really been able to do that and it’s difficult to see a way forward for the Croatia now.

Of course, he may still be required next season if Sepp van de Berg or Ki-Jana Hoever as deemed not to be ready by Klopp. Or Lovren might want to leave in order to secure first team football, which is understandable.

But he’s marked his exit by continuing a trend set by Naby Keita and that’s not overly encouraging.