Klopp identifies massive blunder from Manchester United ace as he defends Liverpool player
By Alex Stevens
Jurgen Klopp has highlighted a recent major blunder by David de Gea as he defended under-fire Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius.
Manchester United keeper De Gea, who has developed into one of the world’s outstanding keepers during his five years at Old Trafford, spilled a shot that led to a goal in United’s recent draw against Stoke.
Like De Gea, Karius has joined an elite Premier League club in his early 20s and has come under criticism for his early performances in the world’s most competitive domestic league.
Liverpool manager Klopp defended the 23-year-old at his media briefing on Friday afternoon as the team make their final preparations for Sunday’s Premier League home clash against West Ham.
“Even the best goalkeepers in the world make mistakes,” said Klopp, as quoted by the personal Twitter account of Liverpool Echo journalist James Pearce. “De Gea made one similar recently. There is no perfect recipe for development.”
Karius was installed as the new Liverpool No1 at the end of September after deposing long-standing custodian Simon Mignolet.
The summer signing from Mainz has made a few high profile errors, most notably last weekend when he let slip a tame late shot to allow Nathan Ake to sneak in to score and seal a remarkable 4-3 win for Bournemouth.
Klopp was in no mood on Friday to allow Karius to shoulder the blame for either the defeat or the match-clinching goal.
“I only heard about harsh criticism,” the manager said, as quoted by Pearce’s personal Twitter account. “I analysed and eight players could have defended the goal before Loris was involved.”
Liverpool are third in the Premier League ahead of their home clash against West Ham, behind Arsenal and leaders Chelsea.
In other Liverpool news, Paul Merson has explained why he fears for West Ham when they travel to Anfield this weekend.