Given the nod once again by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Reds ‘keeper Loris Karius once again had little to do as the Anfield outfit played out a scoreless draw with bitter rivals Manchester United on Monday night. Closed down at every turn, the visitors stifled the high intensity pressing game that the Merseysiders have become known for in what was a vintage defensive display from United manager Jose Mourinho.
“We knew we had to be patient because it’s going to be tough,” Karius told Goal.com when asked about the overly defensive tactics employed by the Reds Devils. “United maybe waited for the one chance to get a goal, as obviously their priority was to stop our play, our attacks,” mused the German shot-stopper. “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.”
Considering their lack of forward endeavor, Karius wasn’t exactly troubled, but a lack of concentration playing out from the back almost gifted the visitors an unlikely goal as similarities with Simon Mignolet’s much criticized brain farts continue to surface. With that being said, it’s hard to be too upset with a first clean sheet of the season — even if we ultimately deserved to get the win.
“It was a really good, strong stop which was unfortunate because he was the opponent, and I would’ve much rather seen it go in. But credit to him, it was impressive,” said Karius of United counter-part David De Gea with the Spaniard keeping out a close range effort from Emre Can and turning a Philippe Coutinho banger around the post as the Reds turned up the tempo in the second half. “He’s enjoyed great development over the last few years and you can just see he gets better and better,” mused the Liverpool shot-stopper. “He’s right up there among the very best in the world, playing at a consistently high level and is a top goalkeeper.”
