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As everyone knows, Liverpool faced Real Madrid in the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League final in Kiev. Liverpool had the chance to win their sixth UCL title after 13 long years, but it was not meant to be. They suffered a heart-wrenching defeat, losing 1-3, as Real Madrid lifted their 13th UCL title and also their third consecutive one.
The match was filled with number of controversies. The first of those was a duel between Mo Salah and Sergio Ramos which led to Salah being forced to leave the field with a dislocated shoulder.
Another incident was when Loris Karius gifted Karim Benzema a goal, giving Real Madrid the lead early on in the second half. Some reports suggested that Ramos had elbowed Karius earlier, which might have led to the latter being concussed.
The elbowing may have been accidental, but it was another big game-changing moment. Karius went on to concede a brace to Gareth Bale and the match ended with the final score 3-1.
Six months may have passed since then, but Liverpool's players have still not overcome the loss. They have been taking turns to aim digs at Ramos all this while.
Recently, Dejan Lovren stated: “If you look, Ramos, he has many more mistakes than me but he’s at Real Madrid. With Ronaldo, when you make a mistake, it’s 5-1, 5-2 and nobody sees the mistake."
"I like Varane, he deserves a lot of credit but he doesn’t get it as much. Ramos gets it, I don’t agree with that," he added.
Earlier this week when Croatia defeated Spain 3-2 Lovren wrote on Instagram, “Elbowed him good,” seemingly citing a challenge on Ramos during the game, while making a gesture with his elbow. “Haha! 3-2! Go ahead and talk now, buddy. Buddy!" he went on.
While responding to Lovren, Ramos said, "I do not know if those things are said out of frustration or for other reasons. I'm not going to answer Lovren or those who want to win a front page headline or news bulletin. Let each one win things on the field.”
Lovren may have been fundamental to the success of his sides Liverpool and Croatia success last season, but does that give him the right to keep trying to discredit Ramos? The incident happened six months ago, and as Ramos said, these comments might be a sign of frustration on the part of Liverpool's players.
Ramos for his part has led by example and has arguably been the best defender in the world this decade.
