Should Loris Karius keep his place between the sticks for Liverpool, he can expect to be targeted next season by both opposition players and rival fans.
Karius’ status as Liverpool’s current No 1 goalkeeper remains in serious jeopardy and he’s shown signs that he’s still struggling to regain the confidence that was so badly damaged following his performance in the Champions League final.
Karius was directly at fault for two of Real Madrid’s goals in Kiev and while it’s been reported that a concussion was to blame for his performance, the German goalkeeper is definitely still rattled by the criticism which followed his showing on May 26.
After returning to his club at the beginning of the month, Karius made a shocking mistake in the warm-up for the Reds’ first preseason friendly against Chester last weekend and his shakiness was on full display again on Tuesday night, when he dropped an awful clanger.
Loris Karius is struggling in a big way https://t.co/EBG8GvT41b
— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) July 11, 2018
The 25-year-old was back in nets on Saturday afternoon for Liverpool’s friendly against Bury and he would have been thrilled by the reception he received from some Reds supporters.
— Ginge (@mikemalins) July 14, 2018
But it wasn’t all support because certain fans targeted Karius with jeers and sarcastic applause every time he touched the ball during the 0-0 draw.
A taste of what Karius can expect from the crowds this season. He did well to be fair.
If you read his lips he says "fuckin scouse twats" pic.twitter.com/h2q7WKp44R— Wisdoms of Liverpool (@LFCwisdoms) July 14, 2018
“It wasn’t nice that when he got the ball that the people here made a little bit of a joke about it but we need to be prepared for that as well,” Klopp told Sky Sports News after the game.
“Is it nice? No. Will it happen though? Probably yes so he needs to be prepared for that.
“He had a good game so that’s absolutely OK and we will build again.”
A new goalkeeper remains on Klopp’s agenda in the transfer window but considering the suggestion that they’ve lost ground in the pursuit of Roma’s Alisson Becker, it remains likely that Danny Ward will be given the chance to compete for the No 1 position once the 2018/19 season gets underway.
