Loris Karius has opened up on the impact of his mistakes in Liverpool’s 2018 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid
When Liverpool welcome Real Madrid to Anfield tonight for the tie of this season’s Champions League so far, it will evoke many memories. Some good – the 1-0 win in the 1981 European Cup final win in Paris; the 4-0 Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard-inspired demolition at Anfield in 2009 – but perhaps more bad.
After all, Madrid have won seven of their last eight meetings with Liverpool, including the 2018 and 2022 Champions League finals.
But whereas the result of the latter was largely down to a virtuoso performance from Los Blancos No.1 Thibaut Courtois, the former was a direct result of one of the most infamous goalkeeping displays in modern football history.
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Loris Karius’ second-half errors, which resulted in goals for Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, ensured Real ran out 3-1 winners in Kiev and effectively ended his Anfield career.
The German never played a competitive game for the Reds again and, after leaving Newcastle United in the summer, he is currently a free agent.
And, ahead of tonight’s meeting between Liverpool and Madrid, Karius has been speaking about the career-changing events of May 26, 2018.
“It has been difficult to shake off,” said the 31-year-old in an exclusive interview with SPORTbible. “Even at other clubs when I was trying to gain a manager’s trust or get game time when I felt like, in my opinion, I deserved it… there have definitely been moments where I’ve thought that was my disadvantage.
“It might not even be the manager’s fault but if you know you have a player that is going to draw so much attention then it’s going to add pressure. They’ve probably thought, ‘I’ll take the easy and safe way rather than go the other route’.
“You can understand in some ways but it’s frustrating when there isn’t much else you can do to change their mind.”
Liverpool signed Alisson Becker two months after the Kiev final and, opting against staying to act as the Brazilian’s back-up, Karius spent two seasons on loan in Turkey with Besiktas before returning to Germany for a loan spell with Union Berlin before leaving Merseyside at the end of his contract in June 2022.
“My confidence was knocked in the days after and in pre-season, for sure,” said Karius, who spent the last two seasons acting as Newcastle’s third-choice keeper “Everything I did was getting looked at. It was so extreme. It all got a bit too much.
“I was trying not to pay any interest but you couldn’t get away from it all. You still notice. People are telling you. I was getting confronted all the time. And that’s why I wanted a fresh start rather than staying at Liverpool, where I could have been behind Alisson, and still getting game time.
“Maybe in the end that would have been the better step but it’s difficult to say at that stage.”