Karius hits back at Liverpool fans

Loris Karius took to Instagram after Sunday’s pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund to hit back at criticism from Liverpool fans.

The much maligned Karius played the entire match in Charlotte, NC, but unfortunately made another series of bad mistakes in the game. One of which again led directly to a goal.

The German is clearly running on empty at the moment. Following the Champions League Final horror show, his confidence is in tatters.

It is no secret that the majority of fans want to see the back of Karius, especially after he has continued to make costly goalkeeping errors.

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Unfortunately, as the signing of Alisson took time to complete, and because Simon Mignolet is on vacation following World Cup involvement, Karius has been forced to stay in the spotlight.

The result is that Liverpool have fed a keeper in need of protection to the wolves. The mistake against Tranmere Rovers last week elicited an unwarranted amount of drama for a meaningless pre-season game.

Had Danny Ward or one of the younger stoppers made a mistake of the same magnitude would it have been a big deal? No. But the reality is that wounds are still raw from Kiev, and any excuse to criticize is being pounced on.

Although Alisson is a Red, he isn’t set to start until after the US tour. As a reuslt, following the sale of Ward, Liverpool are left with little option but to play Karius in friendlies at the moment.

The result? Further mistakes.

Karius lasted just four minutes into the Dortmund game before committing an error that could have led to a goal. He then had no work of note throughout the rest of the game until stoppage time. At this point, he tamely pushed a weak Christian Pulisic effort straight into the middle of the box and the feet of Jacob Bruun Larsen. Goal. Cue hysteria.

Despite the knowledge that Karius is only to play a couple more pre-season games for Liverpool before Alisson takes over, a number of fans couldn’t resist criticizing the keeper.

In response, Karius took to Instagram to send a strong message to those abusing him:

What is clear is that Karius is clearly at rock bottom right now and needs to be taken out of the spotlight. Nobody deserves some of the messages he is receiving and the club should be doing a better job of protecting him.

There is nothing to be gained from lashing out on social media at a player that plays for your club. Even more so when your club has just signed a replacement for a world record fee.

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Take a breath. Get off Karius’ back and allow him time to rebuild his confidence, either at the club or elsewhere. Anything else simply isn’t productive.