Dejan Lovren, Liverpool trainingGetty

Liverpool won't win the Premier League because they have Lovren, jokes Kovacic

Chelsea’s title rivals Liverpool will not win the Premier League this season because Dejan Lovren is at the club, Mateo Kovacic has joked.

The Reds currently sit two points ahead of Chelsea after the Blues dropped points at home to Everton on Sunday. Manchester City remain at the top of the table, with Lovren’s side currently two points behind heading into the November international break.

Kovacic and Lovren are both good friends having come through the ranks together at Dinamo Zagreb, and the pair were both in the Croatia squad that reached the World Cup final earlier this year.

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This season, though, they are rivals at club level, with Real Madrid midfielder Kovacic completing a season-long loan move to Chelsea at the end of the summer transfer window.

And, speaking in the screening of a film that reflected on Croatia’s success in Russia last summer, Kovacic did not shy away from the opportunity to make a sly dig at his good friend Lovren.

"Liverpool will not be English champions. Why? Because they have Dejan Lovren!” Kovacic is quoted as saying by Croatian publication 24 Sata .

Kovacic could be seen consoling Lovren after Liverpool’s heart-breaking Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid last season.

Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea side remain unbeaten in the Premier League, with the former Napoli boss breaking the record for the longest Premier League unbeaten run of a new manager.

Many expected Liverpool to be City’s main rivals for the title this season, but the Blues look as if they may be set to push Pep Guardiola’s side themselves.

Kovacic has made 15 appearances for Chelsea since his arrival in the Premier League and is currently battling with England international Ross Barkley for the third spot alongside Jorginho and N’Golo Kante at the heart of Sarri’s midfield.

Both Kovacic and Lovren are currently on international duty with Croatia, who face a defining week in their Nations League campaign ahead of fixtures against Spain and England.

After two games, Zlatko Dalic’s side have registered just one point after a heavy defeat to Spain and a 0-0 draw against England in their first meetings with the two sides.

If Croatia manage to avoid defeat to Spain on Thursday then the final standings of the group will depend on their meeting with England at Wembley on Sunday.

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