Jurgen Klopp has been criticised for his decision to drop Simon Mignolet in favour of Loris Karius during their time serving as goalkeeping options for Liverpool.
Mignolet joined the Reds in the summer of 2013 from Sunderland and was part of the team that came agonisingly close to ending Liverpool's title wait during his first season at the club. The Belgian shot-stopper continued to serve as the club's undisputed No.1, until the arrival of Loris Karius in 2016 provided him with serious competition for the first time.
Karius earned a run in the side after registering a clean sheet on his competitive debut Carabao Cup win over Derby County, being trusted to then start a first Premier League match versus Hull City just days later. The German would start the following nine top flight games, though this experiment ended on a sour note after a performance to forget during a 4-3 defeat by Bournemouth in December, which led to Liverpool's new goalkeeper coming under intense scrutiny.
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Klopp decided to restore Mignolet as his first-choice shot-stopper for the remainder of the season, though the tables turned again the following campaign as Karius fought his way back into contention to feature in all of the Reds' Champions League fixtures, which included his infamous showing in the final versus Real Madrid, and the final 16 league matches of 2017/18.
Both players effectively their careers at Anfield the following year as the signing of Alisson Becker was sanctioned, resulting in Mignolet making just two appearances in all competitions and Karius joining Besiktas on loan. Since signing for Club Brugge in 2019, Mignolet has won three successive league titles and recently helped his side reach the knockout phases of the Champions League without conceding a single goal.
Such performances have led to Klopp being questioned by former Belgium manager Rene Vandereycken, who told Het Nieuwsblad : "I found it incomprehensible at the time that Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool chose Karius over Mignolet and his performances in recent years and certainly now in the Champions League only confirm that.
"Club Brugge has kept a clean sheet in the Champions League for the fourth time, but the defence has done that together with Mignolet. This time you might even say that Mignolet had more credit for that than the defence, but it makes sense to give away chances against a top European club playing with such intensity. The save with the head on Morata's shot also involved some luck, but that's something a goalkeeper has to have sometimes. All of his other saves were deliberate actions or showed good technique, such as keeping the legs closed and blocking the ball.
"Mignolet is having a Champions League campaign and his presence is a major asset for Club Brugge. Thanks to him, they can get through difficult moments. That's not luck, that's his quality."
Mignolet excelled in his team's two recent clashes with Atletico Madrid, keeping back-to-back clean sheets and making 14 saves across the pair of matches.
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