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Football

26th May 2018

A tearful Loris Karius pleads to Liverpool fans for forgiveness after Champions League final blunders

A night he will never, ever forget...

Simon Lloyd

Liverpool missed out on their sixth European Cup in Kiev on Saturday night, going down 3-1 to Real Madrid.

Zinedine Zidane’s men took a lead early in the first half through bizarre circumstances. Loris Karius’s attempt to throw the ball to a teammate was intercepted by Karim Benzema, who diverted it into the empty Liverpool goal.

Although Sadio Mane would equalise minutes later, substitute Gareth Bale restored Real’s lead in spectacular fashion with under half an hour still to play.

With the game drifting away from Jürgen Klopp’s side, Bale scored another from long-range in the closing stages – Karius again at fault as he fumbled the ball into his own goal.

The German goalkeeper’s two errors proved to be the difference in a final that was otherwise a relatively even contest.

Before the trophy was presented to Real for the third season in a row, cameras focused on a tearful Karius as he made his way over to the end of the stadium occupied by Liverpool’s supporters to apologise for his mistakes.

Regardless of who you support, it’s difficult not to feel for the man after making such huge errors in the biggest game of his career.

Liverpool were dealt a blow in the first half when Mo Salah injured his shoulder after landing awkwardly after contact from Sergio Ramos. Early assessments suggest a dislocated shoulder, meaning he now faces a race to be fit for the World Cup with Egypt next month.