Scottish Daily Mail

KARIUS AIMS TO WIN No1 BATTLE

- By DOMINIC KING

HOW appropriat­e on the night when Liverpool’s Fab Four get back in the swing that the battle for number one will intensify. Jurgen Klopp arrived in Moscow feeling ‘cool’ that, finally, he has the opportunit­y to unleash Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah with Philippe Coutinho pulling the strings in behind. He has been waiting since July 31 for this moment. Liverpool’s second Champions League group game will be significan­t for that reason, but this collision with Russia’s most successful club will also provide Loris Karius with a chance he does not intend to miss. Karius, who endured such difficulti­es during his first 12 months at Anfield, has been handed the responsibi­lity of being Liverpool’s European keeper this season and is aware his performanc­es will be the subject of intense scrutiny. This, though, is not something that will trouble the confident young German, who sees this as his opportunit­y to ramp up the pressure on Simon Mignolet. ‘I see it as a chance,’ said Karius, as he shed light on Klopp’s decision to start the season with three different keepers for three different competitio­ns. ‘We found out before the game (against Sevilla). It is not something he had planned in advance. ‘You can’t tell someone months in advance that they are going to play and then their training is not right. I think it is normal. I know Simon played his part at the end of last season when the team did well. I understand him starting in the league. ‘But for me it is a case of performing well here now. I’d lie if I said I don’t want to be back in the Premier League team as well. That is why this is a big chance to prove myself. This is the chance to show the manager I’m ready for whatever.’ Self-belief is not something Karius lacks but the events that followed his £5million arrival from Mainz rattled him; first there was a broken thumb, then came the shaky performanc­es before, finally, a torrent of criticism. Karius has no wish to settle scores with those who spoke loudest. That, he says, belongs to the past, and the stinging words that came his way will be used to help him reach his objective. ‘I don’t want to put it on certain people,’ he said. ‘I think it was more an injury at the beginning. I wasn’t 100-per-cent ready when I came back.’

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