Jurgen Klopp Backs His Goalkeeper As Jamie Carragher Slams His Performances Against Bournemouth

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp had to come to the rescue of Loris Karius as the former Mainz goalkeeper was criticised by Jamie Carragher. The English defender was unhappy with the performance of the Reds’ goalie as they conceded four goals in the match against Bournemouth and lost out after leading 3-1.

Carragher was speaking to Sky Sports as he let rip on the 23-year-old, who was at fault for Nathan Ake’s goal in the dying minutes of the game.

“Too often in the last two or three years, Liverpool fall apart when put under pressure,” Carragher told Sky Sports. The former Liverpool defender also added, “In eight starts for Liverpool he has not shown me one thing to suggest he’s good enough at this level. He’s miles away.”

Karius did have a poor game in the loss and should have kept out a goal from Ryan Fraser as well. Klopp though was not going to blame his keeper and defended the youngster in between the sticks.

“No concern; no problem,” he said of Karius. “If you make mistakes you get criticised. That’s what happens in life. I’m sure people criticised Jamie Carragher in his career. The last goal was not easy for a goalkeeper. It says nothing about him as a goalkeeper. It happens.”

The former Borussia Dortmund manager also upset during the game and also highlighted how much of a difference the result made to the side.

“I was angry during the game a few times. My boys didn’t want to do the wrong thing; but they did and lost the momentum. It’s not simple to come back. We were 100 per cent before now. Now we are 99 per cent. But it’s quite simple to go back to 100 per cent.”

Theatrics on the pitch by Klopp

At one stage of the game, Jurgen was also warned by the referee to stay within the technical area.

“I was not happy about the penalty decision; it was not possible for me to do absolutely nothing,” said Klopp. “I got a green card, before the yellow card, so I didn’t do it again. In all our good moments, it was pretty clear who the better side was. We kept the ball too long in the wrong moments, passing it too late. Everything changed. The boys lost a bit of concentration.”

The loss was certainly a kick in the teeth for the Reds who were on a 15-match unbeaten run. The loss was reminiscent of the match against Crystal Palace as the Reds were cruising at 3-0 but capitulated in the final few minutes.

There have been questions asked about the decision to play Lucas Leiva in defence when Ragnar Klavan was sitting on the bench. There are also doubts creeping into the mind about the performance of Karius and many fans want Simon Mignolet back in the starting XI. No one would have seen that coming when the Belgian was replaced by Karius.

Klopp though will stick to his side and has stated that things like this will happen. The loss kept Liverpool third in the table and the Reds are four points behind leaders Chelsea.