It was one of the worst Merseyside derbies for years, however, the 0-0 scoreline reflected fantastically on one certain individual.
Loris Karius has had a very eventful footballing career since joining Liverpool FC from Mainz two years ago. When he signed he was meant to be the long-term replacement for the unreliable Simon Mignolet. After just earning a place in the Bundesliga team of the season, Karius came to Anfield as a young man with a lot of hope on his shoulders.
That hope may have been pressure for the young German but his performances were okay. Unfortunately for everyone at Liverpool the 24-year-old broke his hand and looked to be set for a lengthy period on the sidelines.
When he eventually did recover, things didn’t get much better. The goalkeeper had lost his spot to his Belgian teammate Simon Mignolet. Karius struggled to get back into the side with a spot in the starting eleven only coming around on the very rare occasion.
I suppose luckily for Karius, Mignolet wasn’t the safest of hands. After a few costly mistakes and a few dropped balls, the former Sunderland shot-stopper had lost the confidence of Jürgen Klopp and the Stuttgart born manager was left with a dilemma.
Karius and Mignolet both struggled to play with any sort of consistency and Liverpool were looking for a new number one.
However, something changed for Karius. He picked up form and has thrived ever since.
Whether it was the reassurance of Virgil van Dijk, the backing of his manager or the pressure of competition. Karius is a changed man and is starting to look like the goalkeeper Liverpool fans thought they had signed in 2016.
And now to the present day. Karius is part of one of the most solid Liverpool defences for some time and is keeping clean sheets for fun. The keeper has kept eight clean sheets in his last 12 games in all competitions.
The latest did come against Everton and it wouldn’t have been a clean sheet if it wasn’t for his fantastic save to keep out Yannick Bolasie’s right-footed effort.
Let’s hope he can produce saves to a similar standard to keep out the explosive Manchester City we expect to see on Tuesday night.
Without Karius in goal Liverpool probably wouldn’t have got anything from the Merseyside Derby and that’s why the German goalkeeper gets his first man of the match award from me.
