Jurgen Klopp stated before the EFL game against Derby County that there is no number 1 at Liverpool. The German manager was referring to the goalkeeper battle at Anfield and he was ready to give Loris Karius a chance in the cup game.
The 23-year-old goalkeeper was signed from Mainz at the start of the season and was expected to be the number one keeper but he suffered a broken hand during the pre-season but recovered and was ready to go.
Karius did keep a clean sheet on his debut, which certainly would have provided him with a lot of confidence but he was not really tested all that much. The German will provide stiff competition to Simon Mignolet but just how did he fare on his debut?
A confident goalkeeper who will get better
While we can’t really compare Derby County with a Premier League club with a lot of quality, you can only defeat what is in front of you. Karius was barely tested by the Derby attack as the Rams only had four shots on goal. Two of those shots were on target; both were headers and were easy to deal with for the German.
Liverpool dominated the game and it was no surprise that Karius had long spells where he didn’t really have to do much. But a goalkeeper has to stay switched on throughout the game and the former Mainz keeper did do well.
He was able to play as a sweeper-keeper and was brought into action in the 45th minute as he cleared the ball with a great tackle.
There were a few moments which did lead to some tension for the Liverpool supporters. Karius did not look all that great when he came to collect corners. The German prefers to punch the ball away rather than catch it and he almost got caught out when he missed and Richard Keogh should have scored for Derby.
In truth, this was the only black spot in and otherwise it was a decent performance for his first game. Karius could be better at collecting balls from corners but he was flawless and could be a great goalkeeper for the Reds.
The 23-year-old could even play in the game against Hull City at the weekend and this could mean an end for Simon Mignolet’s run as the Liverpool goalkeeper. Karius wasn’t tested all that much and a real workout could come against the Tigers soon but the German seems ready and is raring to go.
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