SURPRISE surprise — sometimes the unexpected really does hit you between the eyes.
Such was the disbelief around the rumours of a change of Liverpool goalkeeper for the Arsenal fixture at least a dozen Twitter accounts were checked and belief still didn’t set in even after The Echo had it splashed all over their social.
But having conceded seven goals in the opening four fixtures of the season, Simon Mignolet was out. Jürgen Klopp deciding to dispose of the Belgian keeper in the most ruthless way, not even including Mignolet in the match-day squad.
And having not made a first team appearance in the league since December last year, Loris Karius was back in.
Whether the reasons for dropping the Belgian are, they remain a mystery — the manager claiming that he’s decided to merely “rest” the stopper.
But given that 29-year-old has endured worse runs of form and has still maintained the confidence of the manager, the timing seems more than a little odd.
Signed from Mainz last summer for £5million, Karius has endured a stuttering start to his Liverpool career, suffering a broken bone in his hand during a pre-season friendly last summer that curtailed his first-team debut only to then suffering the indignity of being dropped less than three months after his debut and a horrific run of form.
And having been thrown in at the deepest of ends, at least on paper, against Arsenal the 24-year-old walked off the pitch with a performance that prompted more questions than answers.
History will show that Liverpool, and Karius, kept a clean sheet but that doesn’t being to tell the story.
To say that the biggest risk to Liverpool not keeping a clean sheet was Karius himself is no exaggeration.
Not once, but twice over the course of the game Karius inexplicably took far too much time with the ball at his feet and was very lucky not to be punished, twice being the benefactor of fortunate ricochets.
But at the same time, the performance was not without mitigation, regardless of the castigation that is no doubt coming his way.
Karius didn’t pick himself and if the manager wanted to give Mignolet a day off he might have picked a quiet away fixture, but regardless, any notion that Karius would be given the benefit of the doubt was shortlived.
The noise in the crowd every time the ball came back to the young goalkeeper’s feet was piercing, the sucking of teeth, the demands to “get fucking rid” — none of it in anyway helpful.
That a few times the quick recycling of possession helped Liverpool get at Arsenal before they had time to get back in shape didn’t register and in the end, the goalkeeper obliged and went long, often conceding possession, but it got ironic cheers from the crowd so at least something was gained from it.
Even at four goals to the good and coasting the negative reaction towards Karius was toxic and bordering a bit on bullying from the crowd.
Despite the obvious flaws Karius’s performance was not without merit, twice when Liverpool were facing a set piece the goalkeeper came under pressure with clean, powerful punches.
Will Karius keep the jersey when the squad returns from the international break and Liverpool face Manchester City? Unless something else is happening with Mignolet then it’s unlikely if the managers comments about “rest” are to be believed.
Maybe the manager wanted to send a message to Mignolet not to rest on his laurels after his immensely improved second half of last season when his position was under threat, or maybe, and this is possibly totally over-analysing, the coaching team thought that the speed of Karius’s distribution and willingness to hold a high line was better suited to today’s game.
Whatever it is, it’s got everyone guessing and in a season when Liverpool will need everyone to be on their toes, maybe it’s not a bad thing after all.
And anyway, Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0.
Up the Bank Holiday Reds.
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Karius was a bit nervous today but Mignolet has had some moments too in his game so far despite not playing so badly. Something tells me Klopp doesn’t see Migs as his keeper long-term.
Is Karius better with the ball at his feet? I think sometimes Mignolet can concede goals too easily. Some his stats are really quite poor in that respect.
Been saying it for a while now. Klopp has an irrational obsession with Karius. He isn’t good. I counted 3x he almost caused a goal with the ball at his feet.
I want to see Danny Ward I thought he’s looked really good. There is not any reason to keep Karius.
With all other things being equal, I’ll take the shot-stopping prowess of Mignolet. Get in VVD so we can see how he performs with no chicken-headed CBs in front of him. I’d love for him to bloom late into one of the leagues best, and hopefully this little wake up call pushes him to hit the heights.
Absolutely no confidence in Karius whatsoever and if Mignolet is to be rested, then let’s give Ward a chance to see what level he’s at. Mignolet was superb while at Sunderland and with no other top drawer options, we should stick with him until negative form dictates otherwise.
Mignolet is a decent shot stopper and to be fair has not had the luxury of a stable defence in front of him for the past few seasons.
Great performance and result today, Karius the only ‘doubt’ today but fair play to the lad- you can only save was the opposition put on on net.
I was hoping Klopp would bring Ward on for Karius with about 20 left.
Karius had issues with the ball at his feet — that bit was obvious and had me screaming at the television screen — but he also handled set pieces extremely well, with confidence. I fully believe Klopp that he wanted to rest Mignolet (likely more mental rest than physical rest), but I do wonder if Arsenal presented the best time to do this, given the Gunners’ style of play and their late-match reliance on Giroud. After all, Klopp really does have to keep three first-team-caliber keepers happy.
Klopp already explained the selection of Karius. They (coaching staff) preferred an ‘attack minded’ keeper in this game. Someone who will play the ball with his feet even under pressure. Karius was playing according to Klopp’s instructions just like the whole team.
After the hectic hoffenheim match midweek, the team needed to converse energy. They manage the game beautifully. The team was slow in possession, taking their time then explode with pace at the right moment. It reminded me of lions in the Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo documentary. They slowly passed the ball around looking for a weakness and burst into full throttle when it appeared. They didn’t constantly press the opponents like usual. They let arsenal pass the ball fooling them into thinking they could build an attack. Then press when arsenal is about to gain momentum. They were like lions; they could see and attack the weak ‘animals’ among arsenal players. It was a marvelous thing to behold.
An exaggeration of the crowd’s treatment of Karius. He did after all take too long not once, not twice but three times! What did you really expect the crowd to do! That said l did notice a couple of confident punches and the quick distribution. But don’t tell me after the first delay you wouldn’t have given him some advice on dawdling in possession. The crowd reacted as they would after three close calls. You are too quick to be critical of the support
And Joe Hart is out on loan…