Former Real Madrid and Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes says Loris Karius’s Reds team-mates will support him after his game-changing blunders in the Champions League final.
Karius was at fault for two of the goals in Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in Kiev, first watching on as Karim Benzema intercepted his bowl out from the back, before letting a straightforward long-range Gareth Bale effort squirt beyond him to kill the game.
But Morientes says Liverpool will rally around their beleaguered net-minder. The Spaniard, watching on at Heineken’s immersive City of Champions event at the Zappeion in Athens alongside FFT, believes there is no better support network for the German than at Anfield.
“They are a team, they will always stick together,” said the ex-striker, who spent almost a year-and-a-half at Liverpool between 2005 and 2006. “He made some very important saves throughout the match which kept Liverpool in the game.
“It’s tough to be in that situation, but when you have a team like Liverpool with so much history, integrity and the strength of their fans on Merseyside, they have the power to bounce back.”
Morientes insists the Reds should keep their heads held high despite the demoralising defeat, and is confident that his former club will return stronger from the experience.
“I would say Bale’s second goal was the last straw. It was a shame to see Salah go off early on – he is an awesome player and they were on fire towards the beginning. But Real bounced back.
“All it took was a couple of world-class moves from one the best players in the world and Real were champions again. It was a sensational final, but Liverpool played great football and I’m sure they will return a more experienced team. I’m sure their time will come.”
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City of Champions is an immersive UEFA Champions League Final experience brought to fans by Heineken. Athens is famous for its rich history as a stage for memorable moments and heroism, and a fitting location as the host destination of Heineken’s City of Champions for 2018. Heineken believes that every UEFA Champions League match delivers the same drama and emotion as a blockbuster film, written live by the best players in the world - and deserves to be shared among friends, over a Heineken.
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Joe was the Deputy Editor at FourFourTwo until 2022, having risen through the FFT academy and been on the brand since 2013 in various capacities.
By weekend and frustrating midweek night he is a Leicester City fan, and in 2020 co-wrote the autobiography of former Foxes winger Matt Piper – subsequently listed for both the Telegraph and William Hill Sports Book of the Year awards.
