Jürgen Klopp has had to issue another vote of confidence in Loris Karius after the Liverpool goalkeeper erred in a pre-season friendly win over Tranmere Rovers.
Karius, whose calamitous display in the Champions League final contributed to defeat by Real Madrid in May, made a mistake in his second appearance since that fateful night in Kiev. The 25-year-old spilled a free-kick by Oliver Norburn into the path of Johnny Smith who reduced Liverpool’s lead to 3-1. Rafael Camacho, Sheyi Ojo and Adam Lallana had given the visitors a 3-0 interval lead at Prenton Park but, after wholesale changes by Klopp, Smith and Rovers’ Amadou Soukouna made the final score 3-2.
Klopp was irritated by Liverpool’s second-half display and by the continued focus on his German keeper, although that was unavoidable after an untimely error even in a pre-season friendly against League Two opposition. The Liverpool manager has firmly backed Karius following the Champions League final and insisted concussion influenced his performance against Real Madrid. However, with Roma’s valuation of Alisson proving prohibitive and Simon Mignolet’s future at Anfield uncertain, Klopp arguably has little choice but to back his compatriot.
“No one likes that goal but, if we talk about that, then the second goal is Milly’s [James Milner’s] fault,” said Klopp at Tranmere. “Two brilliant footballers make mistakes but we only talk about one. We can’t make a story after each mistake. Let’s carry on and make the best of the situation and learn from it.”
When asked how the spotlight could shift from Karius this season, the Liverpool manager replied: “You can stop it by not asking, promise? Until he has a few fantastic games you cannot change that. Our job is to support Loris. That’s our part of the deal. I saw this situation 500 times in my life: the ball hits his chest but what can you do?”