Loris Karius: Why Liverpool’s villain can be Newcastle’s cult hero in Carabao Cup Final

It was one of those weekends. We aren’t used to losing and it hurts, but there will be disappointing days over the next few years. The hope is that these days are fewer and further between. 

The focus needs to switch to this Sunday. The sending off of Nick Pope has provided a problem for us. It means we either need to field Mark Gillespie or Loris Karius in the Carabao Cup final, due to Martin Dubravka being cup tied and Karl Darlow being out on loan.

Karius is the one likely to take the gloves, as he is far more experienced than Gillespie and he is considered a better goalkeeper. There will be a lot of coverage about his last game in English football being the 2018 Champions League final, where he made a couple of big errors for Liverpool.

That night ruined his career, as he was quickly replaced by Liverpool and hasn’t been able to find a settled home since. However, it is worth remembering that it came out after the final that Karius did suffer a concussion during the game, prior to his errors. Therefore, it is unfair to consider that night as a fair reflection of his goalkeeping ability. It has clearly had a big impact on his career though.

Following the Champions League final, he had a two year loan spell with Besiktas, where he featured regularly. Karius made 55 appearances in Turkey, but it ended badly for him there. He had a fall out with the club over a wage dispute and returned to Liverpool. This was the last time he was a regular starter for a club and that was during the 2019-20 season.

A further spell at Union Berlin followed, but he didn’t break into the team in the Bundesliga, making just four appearances. His last professional appearance came in 2020-21 for the German side.

This is worrying for us, as he is set to be thrown in to start the Carabao Cup final this weekend. However, there are reasons to be confident that Karius can play his part this weekend.

Prior to that disastrous night for Liverpool, he was performing well for the Reds. Karius played in every match up to and including the final, keeping six clean sheets along the way. It would have been impossible for Jurgen Klopp’s side to reach the final if Karius was a bad goalkeeper. 

Although he has never been one of Europe’s best, Karius has been a solid goalkeeper at European and Premier League level. Considering he is effectively our fourth choice, we are very lucky to have one with his experience and ability. 

The main reason to believe in Karius is that this is his time for retribution. This is an opportunity for him to put the demons of 2018 to bed and have a fonder cup final memory to look back on. For the years following, he would have thought that such an opportunity wouldn’t come. It is now here and he will want to grab it with both hands. 

There is also a school of thought that Karius is more suited to our style of play than Dubravka, as he is more active off his line. That has been one of Pope’s strengths this season, despite the red card on Saturday. 

If a film script writer was responsible for Karius’ career, a star showing to help Newcastle United win their first trophy since 1969 would be too perfect. Let’s hope we get that outcome on Sunday.