Why Liverpool must bring this player back into the starting XI
COMMENT By Emma Sanders
Simon Mignolet must be brought back into the starting XI to protect Loris Karius from further criticism.
The 23-year-old has produced a number of poor displays and has come under huge criticism from a number of high-profile pundits and former players, including Gary Neville, Jamie Redknapp and Jamie Carragher.
Karius joined from Mainz this summer after he was tipped to become one of the best young goalkeepers in the Bundesliga but he has struggled to adapt to the Premier League.
His mistake in the dying minutes of the 4-3 defeat against Bournemouth led to Nathan Ake’s stoppage time winner and he was at fault for both goals in the disappointing 2-2 draw against West Ham on Sunday.
He didn’t read Dimitri Payet’s free-kick well and was slow moving across his line, meaning the playmaker was able to equalise from a fairly average set-piece.
Karius made matters worse when poor defending from Joel Matip allowed the ball to bounce into the feet of Michail Antonio and hesitation from the Liverpool keeper made it easy for the Hammers’ winger.
The Reds’ number one is in the firing line and it’s clear he isn’t confident in between the sticks, weary of making mistakes and cautious to command his defence.
Jurgen Klopp must now bring Mignolet back into the side to take Karius out of the limelight and give him time to build his confidence back up.
It’s clear Klopp rates the German, but Karius needs to go back to basics and Mignolet has the experience to come back into the side for a temporary spell.
In other Liverpool news, these are the three things we learned during the Reds’ performance against West Ham.