Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius says that Manchester United indirectly gave a compliment to Liverpool after opting for a defensive tactic during the recent league meeting at Anfield. Jose Mourinho always sets up his team in a defensive manner especially when they are playing away from home. The Monday night game at Anfield was once again a predictable affair for anyone aware of Mourinho’s set up. Mourinho later justified his decision by claiming that the tactic prevented a direct rival from gaining three points at home.
United were able to bring an end to Liverpool’s run of four successive wins in the Premier League. At the start of the campaign, Jurgen Klopp’s team was expected to make an impact in the league but not on such a scale. After a thrilling opening day victory against Arsenal, Liverpool went on to claim impressive wins against Leicester City and Chelsea. The club are now expected to fight for the league title while United still continue to search for their best team. In such a scenario, getting a point at Anfield certainly does not look bad.
Liverpool managed to test the David de Gea on a number of occasions and the Spaniard had to be in an excellent form in order to prevent the home team from scoring. Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho had the best opportunities for Liverpool. At the other end, Karius was selected in goal ahead of Simon Mignolet. It was a brave decision by the manager to field the summer signing ahead of the more experienced goalkeeper. The 23-year-old German could not have had a more comfortable evening against a top team. Apart from a couple of saves to keep out Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Karius did not have much to do between the sticks. Speaking to Liverpool’s website, he said:
“We knew we had to be patient because it’s going to be tough.
“United maybe waited for the one chance to get a goal, as obviously their priority was to stop our play, our attacks.
“They know we’re a really strong team, so that’s a compliment for us.
“Second half, we managed better to get through, but United defended well with De Gea making top saves.”
Karius came from the German outfit Mainz 05 in the summer for around £4.7 million. However, he is no stranger to English football after having spent two years at Manchester City’s youth team before his move to Bundesliga.
Liverpool were clearly the inform team going into the game and it was clear that United will be paying the opposition a lot of respect. Even former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher felt that United should have played in a more expansive way, but Karius is happy that a top team acknowledged the brilliance of Liverpool this season and played in a more conservative fashion.
After a clean sheet, it may not be surprising to see Karius retain his first-team spot ahead of Mignolet.
