A Comparison Between Mignolet And Karius: Why Liverpool Have Done A Great Business

A decisive next season awaits the reds as the 2016-17 is building up to be a grand competition between the best managers of the world. Having Klopp, Guardiola, Mourinho and Conte in one League will increase the competition as well as the league’s viewership. The rivals are going to spend a lot and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool have started to work on their targets with Loris Karius becoming the first summer transfer from Mainz 05 and has been given the no.1 shirt at the club.

The goalkeeping situation was one of the most needed areas which needed immediate attention. Klopp has worked on it and without spending a lot, has secured the services of Karius who was voted as the second best keeper in the Bundesliga by his peers.

Comparing goalkeepers is a tough job as their quality is not just defined by their own performance but also by how strong the defence is in front of them. Both Mignolet and Karius have conceded 42 goals this season, but Mainz have had a tougher season than the reds and also Liverpool have a far superior personal in defence than Mainz. This is the reason why the Belgian has four more clean sheets than the 22 year old Karius.

But if a complete statistical breakdown is done on both the keepers, then hands down Karius is a winner. Karius has everything that Mignolet lacks and has been criticized for. Starting with the shot stopping which can be said as Karius’ forte and has more saves than any keeper from shots outside the box this season in the Bundesliga. Karius made 2.53 saves per game while Mignolet made 1.53 which can be a result because of the respective backline too.

Karius makes 2.10 stops per goal while the Belgian makes 1.27 per goal which makes clear about his shot stopping abilities and his ability to come off his line quickly which the Belgian has frequently been accused of not doing. Coming to crosses, the young German catches 96% of high balls compared to Mignolet’s 82%. This can be a huge bonus for the reds in the league. Mignolet’s distribution is slightly better than Karius by a mere 6% where the Belgian stands at 66% while Karius at 60%. But, Karius’ kicks are longer in average than the Belgian with 40m to 38m.

The most important stat between the two is that Karius has been involved in zero errors this season which can become a huge upgrade for the reds. While Mignolet has been involved in four direct errors, Karius can be the solution for Klopp for the future ahead. Another brilliant stat for the German is that minutes per error in Karius’ career is 835 minutes while every Liverpool keeper since 11/12 made an error every 563 minutes and every Premier League since 11/12 keeper has made an error every 747 minutes which proves the fact that the reds have a genuine world class talent at their disposal who can set the league on fire.