James Milner Admits He Isn't Over Champions League Heartbreak as He Backs Karius to Bounce Back

James Milner believes that Loris Karius will bounce back to have a good career in football, despite his errors in last season's Champions League final, while admitting that he himself is not yet over the traumatic defeat.

Karius gifted goals to Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale as Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kiev, and the German goalkeeper has now been loaned out to Besiktas, with Alisson replacing him as the Reds' first choice.

Speaking to FourFourTwo, Milner backed Karius to recover from that setback and get his career back on track.

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He said of his former teammate: "Everyone makes mistakes in football, and unfortunately as a goalkeeper it’s part of your life: if you make a mistake, it ends up in the net. It’s something he'll learn from. 

"He’s a strong character. He will bounce back, and he’s shown that already in his career – he was at Man City and it didn’t work out, but he went away, worked really hard and now he’s playing for Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in Europe. 

"It shows what he’s all about and I’m sure he’ll do that once again."

Milner set a new record for the most Champions League assists by any player in a single campaign last season. He admitted that losing in the final was a tough pill to swallow.

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"To lose a Champions League final was tough. Getting that far and that close is not really something you will ever forget," said the 32-year-old.

"People ask me, “Are you over it yet?” and I don’t think it ever does leave you, being that close to something that big and not achieving it."

Liverpool's quest to repeat last season's journey to the final began with a 3-2 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.