Liverpool flop on verge of proving everyone, including the Reds, wrong

Liverpool flop Loris Karius is on the verge of his grand comeback, and potentially a return to the German national team.

Hype is growing around the German goalkeeper following his superb display in Schalke’s recent draw with Bayern Munich.

That game finished 0-0 but only thanks to Karius’ efforts, with one particularly fine save to deny Harry Kane making the headlines.

Now, with the international break just around the corner, he could be set for his redemption eight years on from his horror show for Liverpool in the Champions League final.

There’s plenty of focus on Germany’s goalkeeper position as Manuel Neuer has retired, leaving the spot open for the next number one.

Pundit praise

Sky Germany report that ‘suddenly’ there is the option of Karius as well. His performance against Bayern prompted several pundits to suggest him as a candidate.  Didi Hamann was the first to lavish him with praise.

“He’s the biggest trump card Schalke has. He exudes so much calm, is a monster of man, a hun,” he said.

“He plays with a calm and sovereignty, has seen a lot and has already played in some countries – I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays a role.”

Lothar Matthäus, meanwhile, has insisted that the former Liverpool goalkeeper has pushed the door wide open.

“Performances like today’s certainly help to open the door wider,” he said.

“As far as I know, Loris Karius holds a German passport. And anyone who holds a German passport. If someone plays the way Karius did today – and puts in a few more performances like that – they automatically step into the spotlight.”

Playing it cool for now

Karius, for his part, is not focused on the conversation happening around him at this moment in time.

“To be honest, I don’t even think about that,” he emphasised to RUHR24.

The newspaper says he is happy playing in the Bundesliga with Schalke 04. The 33-year-old isn’t thinking about “having to put in an especially good goalkeeping performance to break into that circle.”

Instead, his full focus is on Schalke. For Karius, there is currently only one goal: “To bring my performance week after week.”

Liverpool redemption?

With that now happening, though, the conversation has turned to Germany and a potential return to the national team. For some, like Hendrik Buchheister, it’s just a reminder of how far the goalkeeper has come.

He was in attendance in Kiev for that terrible night for Liverpool and was left with nothing but a profound sense of sadness from the affair.

“It later emerged that Karius was playing with a concussion. But right after the whistle I knew: His Liverpool career is over, perhaps his career in top-level football overall,” he said.

“Karius went through tough times in the years after, as a footballer and personally. His mistakes haunted him, a quiet young man whose glamorous way of life always seemed like a protective shield.

“On Saturday I saw Karius again in the stadium, in the game of FC Schalke 04, for which he has been playing since the beginning of 2025. Karius was the hero against FC Bayern; with several parades he saved the surprising 0:0.

“Schalke’s football boss Youri Mulder brought him into the conversation afterwards for the national team, which is recently coached by Jürgen Klopp – of all people. Klopp was in charge of Liverpool in 2018 at the unfortunate final of Kiev.

“Loris Karius has worked his way up again from the very bottom. On Saturday, in the stands of the Schalke Arena, I was happy for him.”