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‘I let them down’, Karius apologises to Liverpool after final flop

Heart-broken Loris Karius has apologised to Liverpool's shattered stars after his costly mistakes condemned the Reds to defeat in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

Liverpool’s German goalkeeper Loris Karius reacts during the UEFA Champions League final football match between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine on May 26, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

Heart-broken Loris Karius has apologised to Liverpool’s shattered stars after his costly mistakes condemned the Reds to defeat in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

Karius gifted Real a 3-1 victory in Kiev on Saturday as he threw the ball against Madrid striker Karim Benzema in a bizarre opening goal.

The 24-year-old German capped a wretched night when he allowed Gareth Bale’s long-range effort to slip into the net for the third goal even though the shot was straight at him.

Karius was in tears at the final whistle and none of Liverpool’s frustrated players stopped to console him on the pitch.

He walked over to Liverpool’s fans to hold his hands up in an attempted apology before publicly saying sorry to his team-mates and the club after the match.

“I lost my team the game. I’m sorry for everyone — from the team, from the whole club — that the mistakes cost dearly,” Karius told TalkSport.

“If I could go back in time, I would. I feel sorry for my team. I know I let them down.

“It’s very hard right now but that’s the life of a goalkeeper. These goals cost us the title, basically.”

Karius faces a close-season of torment as he tries to block out the worst moment of his career.

And former Liverpool goalkeeper Ray Clemence says Karius will have to live with his mistakes “for the rest of his life”.

Clemence knows what it takes to win the sport’s elite club prize after playing for Liverpool in their victorious European Cup finals in 1977, 1978 and 1981.

The 69-year-old admitted Karius had let down his team with the high-profile howlers.

“He’s made two horrendous errors at vital times in the game and he has to live with that,” Clemence told BBC Radio on Sunday.

“He’s got the whole summer to think about it and when you make mistakes in massive games like that they will be with you for the rest of your life, because people will remember them and keep reminding you of them.”

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