There was one major talking point ahead of Liverpool’s game against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night: Jurgen Klopp’s decision to drop Loris Karius.
Following a string of poor performances, namely during the recent 4-3 defeat to Bournemouth, Klopp appeared to decide enough was enough and replaced the German with Simon Mignolet.
Goals from Adam Lallana (2) and Divock Origi saw Liverpool beat their opponents 3-0 at the Riverside Stadium, with Mignolet enjoying a reasonably quiet night.
Karius was forced to watch from the bench as his teammates tore Middlesbrough apart limb from limb, with one video capturing how he felt about being dropped.
While sitting in the dugout, the 23-year-old was caught on camera giving Klopp evils, much to the entertainment of social media.
Klopp has now revealed how Karius reacted to being replaced by Mignolet and, typically, he made light of the situation by explaining how his compatriot ‘didn’t want a hug’.
Asked after the game whether Karius said much in response, he said: “Not that much, of course, how you can imagine.
“It’s not that he immediately wanted a hug but it’s a normal decision, in football it’s like this when you’re at the right club.
“Even when you’re not in the best moment and step aside, train hard, improve, get back to your best shape and we’ll see what happens.
“(It’s) all ok, but of course, for the player in the first moment, it was not the best moment in life.”
Despite dropping Karius, Klopp still sees a bright future for the young shot-stopper at Liverpool.
“The situation is LFC is a long-term project,” he added. “We really want to improve the club, we know we have to be successful as soon as possible.
“But on the other hand, we all feel comfortable in a situation with each other, the goalkeeper included, and I know how strong Loris Karius is.
“Unfortunately he couldn’t show it in the last one, two, three games, I’m not sure, that’s not important.
“Everyone thinks one little mistake, which can happen to any goalkeeper in the world, and I say ‘ok, final judgement, don’t want to see him anymore’ but there’s no reason.”