One Man Utd star reached out to support ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Karius after Champions League final nightmare

Manchester United’s on-loan centre-back Eric Bailly offered his support to Loris Karius after the former Liverpool goalkeeper's Champions League nightmare.

United take on Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, hoping to win their first trophy since 2017.

Meanwhile, it’s the Magpies' first showpiece event since the turn of the Millenium and should they win, it would be the club’s first domestic trophy since the Sixties.

Indeed, with Nick Pope serving a suspension after being sent off against Liverpool last week, and second-choice keeper Martin Dubravka cup-tied, Karius is likely to start between the sticks for Newcastle.

If the German does start, as expected, it will be his Newcastle debut and his first senior appearance of any kind since February 2021, when he was on loan at Union Berlin.

Karius’ last appearance in English football was in Liverpool’s 3-1 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid where he was famously guilty of two major errors that lead to goals.

The disastrous performance spelt the end of his Liverpool career.

Bailly offered support to Karius

In the 2018 Champions League final Karius suffered a concussion after a collision with Los Blancos’ Sergio Ramos.

Minutes later the German threw the ball into the path of Karim Benzema, who tapped into the Liverpool goal to open the scoring.

Then, the keeper lost track of a speculative Gareth Bale shot from distance, allowing the ball to slip through his hands to make it 3-1.

Karius - who received a mass of online abuse after the game - subsequently took to social media to apologise to teammates and fans for his role in the defeat.

The shot-stopper’s apology prompted United centre-back Bailly, who is currently on loan at Marseille, to put rivalry aside and issue a message of support.

Writing on Instagram Bailly said: "Stay strong Loris, you are a good goalkeeper."

Karius’ Liverpool career was not as calamitous as some remember it to be. The German kept a clean sheet in 22 of his 49 Reds appearances, equating to 45 per cent - a ratio bettered only by Ray Clemence (48.6 per cent) in the club's entire history.

Topics: Football, Loris Karius, Eric Bailly, Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Carabao Cup

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.