Why Klopp has made one of the biggest selection calls of his Liverpool reign
COMMENT By Will Butcher
Jurgen Klopp has reportedly opted to drop under-fire Loris Karius in favour of Simon Mignolet ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Middlesbrough.
The Times claim that Klopp has decided to hand Mignolet a second chance between the sticks for the Reds, in what is one of Klopp’s biggest decisions as Liverpool boss to date.
Karius, a £4.7million signing from Mainz in the summer, has been poor for Liverpool with two high-profile mistakes against Bournemouth and West Ham.
Despite his form, Karius’ omission from the Liverpool starting eleven is surprising after the German boss defended his compatriot in front of the world’s media.
Karius, 23, has been the subject of fierce criticism from Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville earlier this week, which prompted Klopp to defend him.
However, the only person in Karius’ corner has now deserted him by axing him from the starting eleven in what will come as a huge blow to the goalkeeper.
Although it’s a shock to see Klopp go back on his defence of Karius, the decision makes total sense.
Defending your players is one thing. Continuing to pick them when their form is bad and they’ve got immense pressure to deal with could be Premier League suicide.
However, everyone will now focus their attention on Mignolet. The Belgium international must put in a good performance to give him a chance of winning back the no.1 spot.
He’ll have a lot of pressure on his shoulders and it will be fascinating to see if he can rise to the occasion.
A mistake from Mignolet against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night would cause a media stir, and possibly even bring the spotlight on Klopp – who hasn’t has to put up with much negative media attention since taking over at Anfield.
In other Liverpool news, fans have reacted on Twitter to the bold decision.