Loris Karius Has Homework to Do to Stay as Liverpool’s Goalkeeper

 Loris Karius faces an uncertain future at Liverpool. Photograph: Grant Halverson/International Champions Cup/Getty Images
Loris Karius faces an uncertain future at Liverpool. Photograph: Grant Halverson/International Champions Cup/Getty Images
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Loris Karius Has Homework to Do to Stay as Liverpool’s Goalkeeper

 Loris Karius faces an uncertain future at Liverpool. Photograph: Grant Halverson/International Champions Cup/Getty Images
Loris Karius faces an uncertain future at Liverpool. Photograph: Grant Halverson/International Champions Cup/Getty Images

Maybe, just maybe, Loris Karius needs to stop seeing himself as an artist and start thinking like a scientist? Perhaps his faith in the powers of instinct could do with being underpinned with a few more specific details?

Liverpool’s goalkeeper has been having a rough time of things at work – or at least rough by the standards of anyone commanding a basic wage of around £25,000 a week – since his two glaring errors in the Champions League final defeat against Real Madrid in May.

Undiagnosed concussion was subsequently cited as the cause of the German goalkeeper’s two concentration lapses in Kiev and Klopp was sympathy personified – before swiftly spending £65m on Roma’s Alisson. That decision appears vindicated by a few, instantly magnified, errors made by Karius in pre-season games which served as a cruel reminder that, while outfield players can often get away with myriad mistakes, goalkeepers rarely succeed in camouflaging slip-ups.

Following a 3-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund in North Carolina – a setback in which Karius was judged responsible for conceding two goals – the Twitter-sphere turned hostile and hysterical. “To those who take joy in seeing other people fail or suffer, I feel for you,” the keeper retaliated in an emotional post. “Whatever it is that’s happening in your life to hold this much anger and hate, I pray that it passes and good things come to you.”

Mohamed Salah felt moved to intervene. “Stay strong Karius,” the Liverpool striker tweeted. “It has happened to the best players. Ignore those who hate.”

Sound advice indeed but the keeper could possibly question the implicit trust he places in instinct. Asked, last season, if he made a point of studying strikers’ idiosyncrasies, Karius said: “It’s not something I particularly do. To a certain point it’s good to analyse but, at the end of the day, you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Such a fatalistic approach seems at odds with a character obsessed by the fine details of his nutrition and sleep quality but Karius believes the goalkeeper’s art to be “extremely instinctive”. He has a DVD library of impressive saves made for Mainz and Liverpool to endorse that point but it is also true that the best footballers tend to supplement the video preparation routinely done with club analysts by burning the midnight oil at home.

The Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford spends hours studying the movement and technique of opponents. When last September Pickford stretched out a foot to deny Jermain Defoe a goal at Goodison Park with the Bournemouth striker clean through, he explained it was down to having prepared by visualising assorted scenarios involving Defoe and researching what he was most likely to do.

“I’d done my homework so I didn’t have to guess,” said Pickford. “I was pretty sure Jermain would put his shot to my right so I waited, he did, I saved it and we won.”

If a lack of research did not prompt the fumbled free-kick which handed Tranmere a goal against Karius in another pre-season friendly at Prenton Park, a blend of pressure and lost confidence was surely responsible.

Professor Steve Peters, the sports psychiatrist who has worked extensively with Liverpool in recent years, predicted it would take Karius three months to recover from his Kiev trauma.

“It’s not that he’s lost any talent or ability but it’s sport and on the day sometimes things go wrong,” Peters said, indicating that, just like a broken bone or torn ligament, the head needs time to heal. “The general rule of thumb, and we don’t know why, is that the mind takes about three months to process these things. But with professional help, from a sports psychologist or clinical psychologist, you can ensure that it strengthens you rather than weakens you when you come out [of the three-month period].”

The problem for Karius is that, by August, Alisson could well be Klopp’s established No 1. “Of course that’s not perfect for me,” the 25-year-old agreed. So might he depart before next month’s transfer deadline? “I don’t know,” he replied. “I cannot say what I’m doing right now.” Considering that Liverpool’s manager paid Mainz a modest – in a Premier League context – £4.75m for Karius and bought him primarily to challenge Simon Mignolet, Klopp possibly regards the German’s signing as a relatively low-risk gamble that did not quite pay dividends.

The question now is what happens next? With Karius’s wages beyond many club budgets and a contract until 2021, a loan deal seems quite likely. Alternatively, if Mignolet moves on – possibly to a reserve role at Barcelona – a return to the Anfield bench may yet beckon.

Once there he would be an Alisson injury away from a dramatic recall and a starring role in one of those redemption narratives around which football revolves. But first Karius could do worse than remember the adage about the devil really being in the detail.

The Guardian Sport



Which Teams Are in Danger Heading into a Pivotal Week in the Revamped Champions League? 

Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Chelsea - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 25, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Chelsea - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 25, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
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Which Teams Are in Danger Heading into a Pivotal Week in the Revamped Champions League? 

Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Chelsea - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 25, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Chelsea - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 25, 2025 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts. (Reuters)

The Champions League’s new-look league phase reaches its conclusion on Wednesday with big names like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in danger of early elimination.

Holder Real Madrid and six-time winner Bayern Munich are fighting to avoid a playoff.

With so much jeopardy going into the last games before the knockout stages, UEFA’s revamp of its elite club competition looks to have delivered.

How was the Champions League revamped?

The European Cup has evolved since its inception in 1955 when it was a straight knockout tournament played over four rounds. It expanded over the years and in 1992 was rebranded the Champions League.

From 2003, 32 teams played in eight groups of four, with 16 advancing to a knockout stage.

But for this season the group stage was scrapped and replaced by one group of 36 teams. The draw was seeded and each team played one-off games against eight different opponents.

The top eight teams automatically advance to the round of 16. Teams placed ninth to 24th go into a playoff and those below are eliminated.

How will the final round of games work?

Traditionally, the group stage finale was split over two days, but all 36 teams will play at the same time on Wednesday. Kickoff is 9 p.m. CET (2000 GMT).

Only leader Liverpool and second-placed Barcelona have qualified for the last 16. Record 15-time winner Real Madrid is one of 16 teams vying to be one of the other six teams to automatically qualify for the last 16 and avoid a playoff.

What are the big stories to look out for?

Manchester City, the 2023 champion, needs to beat Brugge just to secure a place in the playoffs. Anything less and it will be eliminated.

PSG beat City last week to move into the playoff spots, but a loss to Stuttgart could still see it go out.

Madrid eased concerns about a potential early exit by defeating Salzburg 5-1 last week. The defending champion may yet have to settle for a playoff and the possibility of an uncomfortable draw, given so many big teams are in places 9-24.

They include Bayern, Juventus, PSG and last year’s beaten finalist Borussia Dortmund. City will be hoping to join that list as well.

Who is on top?

Liverpool is in first place with a perfect winning record from its first seven games.

Liverpool needs a point against PSV Eindhoven to win the league phase. Barcelona is three points behind and could yet take top spot with a win against Atalanta if Liverpool loses.

Is there an advantage to coming first?

That remains to be seen. In a season that has already been congested by the addition of two extra league phase games, there is an obvious advantage to avoiding the playoffs and two more matches.

But the number of big teams in the playoff spots means there is the chance of drawing one of the favorites in the round of 16.

If the standings remain the same after Wednesday’s games, Liverpool would face the prospect of Madrid, Bayern, Juventus or Celtic in the last 16. Hardly a reward for finishing top.