It was only a matter of time before Jurgen Klopp took Loris Karius out of the firing line.
The 23-year-old’s awful goalkeeping against Bournemouth and West Ham saw Liverpool drop five points in two games, and with the more experienced Simon Mignolet on the bench, Klopp made a wise move in making the change.
Mignolet kept a clean sheet against Middlesbrough and made some decent saves, so Karius must know his prospects of an immediate return to the starting lineup are slim.
However, the Belgian has reacted sympathetically to his team-mate, imploring Karius to bounce back from a difficult period.
“We are team-mates, we all have to get through it and push each other,” he said, via Goal.com.
“For Loris, it will not be nice. But he’s more than capable and professional enough to deal with it and learn from it.
“He will only get stronger from it. That’s part of the job (being dropped) and you have to be mentally strong to deal with that.
“I’m coming up to 29, and I’ve been through it as well. It’s not nice.
“You only get stronger from it, especially at a club like Liverpool Football Club. One thing gets really big out of nothing.”
Karius has become embroiled in a war of words with Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, both of whom have criticised him in their capacity as Sky Sports pundits.
Restoring Mignolet isn’t guaranteed to solve all of Liverpool’s problems, though, as while it will take Karius out of the spotlight, last season’s number one made plenty of errors too.
Klopp must have serious concerns over whether the Reds can win the league with a pair of erratic goalkeepers, so he’ll be hoping their sensational attack can make up for it.
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