Legendary Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas has jumped to the defence of Liverpool’s under fire stopper Loris Karius after the German came in for more criticism on Sunday night.
Karius has been the subject of fan abuse after making two errors in the Champions League final that ultimately cost Liverpool in their 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev. The German has since returned to pre-season with his confidence in tatters and went on to make further errors in friendly matches against Tranmere and Borussia Dortmund.
Casillas, who played 725 games for Real Madrid and is currently at FC Porto, took to social media on Sunday night to defend the 25-year-old. ‘Will this attack on Loris Karius ever end? I’m talking about him like so many other goalkeepers,’ the 2010 World Cup winner wrote on Twitter. ‘There are many more serious problems in the world… f***! Leave the kid alone! He’s also a person. As we all are!’
Karius looked nervy throughout Liverpool’s opening International Champions Cup game against Dortmund on Sunday evening.
Jacob Bruun Larsen capitalised on a Karius error to add a third in stoppage time. He weakly palmed an effort from Christian Pulisic straight into the path of Larsen who fired home to make it 3-1. His immediate future also looks particularly bleak after Liverpool completed a world record fee for a goalkeeper last week for Brazilian star Alisson Becker. The Anfiel dcoach Klopp has demoted Karius to make world-record £65million signing Alisson his first-choice goalkeeper. But Klopp will not ditch his fellow German and instead claims he can still help the team by competing with Alisson.
Klopp knows competition will bring the best out of his talented squad and he wants Karius to spur the Brazil international. “Obviously Alisson is a world-class goalkeeper, so we’re not going to say, ‘Let’s have a look’,” said Klopp. “He will play, of course. He is the No1 for Brazil and then there is the fee. When Alisson is ready, he will be in our goal.
“We all need to help him so he can perform as good as possible. That is maybe the only difference.But for that to happen we need a strong squad around him and Loris is an outstanding goalkeeper. That’s the truth. Nothing else.My job, together with Michael Edwards and Mike Gordon, is to bring the best players who are available for Liverpool, if they fit in. That’s what we have tried to do. Then my job is to work with these boys and give them this kind of shape that they can really work together in the best possible way.”
Klopp has tried to nurture Karius since he signed him from Mainz two years ago and insists he will still help him as he battles to recover his confidence following his collapse in form.
“That will not change,” said the manager. “Whatever we do in these situations, it’s nothing for the public. It’s not a case of ‘he said this’ or ‘he said that’. There’s nothing to say in public.” Klopp is expected to continue his goalkeeping overhaul following Danny Ward’s departure to Leicester by letting Simon Mignolet leave if he receives a suitable offer. Mignolet, who is still on holiday following the World Cup, is now Liverpool’s third-choice keeper and his playing prospects are very slim.
Loris Karius hit back at his doubters after Liverpool’s 3-1 pre-season defeat to Dortmund.The German was culpable for the Bundesliga club’s third and final goal in the defeat in the United States, palming Christian Pulisic’s shot back out to Jacob Bruun Larsen to slot home.
Karius had also looked nervous at the start of the International Champions Cup game in Charlotte, slicing an attempted clearance from a through ball into the path of Max Philipp, who stabbed wide of the open goal. The spotlight has been on the 25-year-old since his nightmare performance in May’s Champions League final, with the player losing the no.1 jersey after a difficult start pre-season and seeing Alisson arrive in a world record £65million deal from Roma.