Published 15:28 IST, December 10th 2020
Gareth Bale mocks teammate Son Hueng-min with 'Karius' jibe during Spurs training session
Spurs forward Gareth Bale appeared to mock teammate Son Heung-min, who pretended to be a goalkeeper during a training session by calling him "Karius".
Tottenham attacker Gareth Bale appeared to poke fun at teammate Son Heung-min with a cheeky reference to Loris Karius during a training session on Wednesday. The Welsh winger, who returned to Spurs on loan in the summer, had an enjoyable time when he came up against Karius in the 2018 Champions League final as he scored twice while playing for Real Madrid to help win Los Blancos their 13th European crown. Karius' blunders in the final then forced the Reds to splash the cash on Alisson Becker that summer and the Brazilian has firmly established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper for Liverpool ever since.
Tottenham training: Bale calls Son Heung-min 'Karius' after South Korean drops a straightforward take
In a video clip from a Tottenham's training session ahead of their clash against Antwerp, Bale, Son and Davies were seen performing a light training drill. Davies was then seen firing a half volley at the in-form South Korean forward, who was pretending to be a goalkeeper. However, Son failed to catch the ball, spilling it to his right before picking it up. Son then attempted to run away with the ball as Bale yelled out "Karius", blatantly taking a jibe at the German goalkeeper for his howlers in the 2018 UCL final.
Karius had made a schoolboy error which allowed Karim Benzema to score the opener in Kyiv but Liverpool still managed to equalize through Sadio Mane. Bale, who came on as a substitute, then scored a stunning overhead kick to make it 2-1 for Real Madrid. He then got his second of the night to seal the win for Madrid after Karius allowed a long-distance effort to slip through his hands.
The German was heavily criticized for his two costly errors in the final but it was later revealed that Karius had seemingly suffered a concussion during the game. He was loaned out to Besiktas the following season as Alisson replaced him as Liverpool's No.1. Karius currently plies his trade at Union Berlin, on loan from Liverpool.
Bale's jibe at Karius only adds a bit of fuel to the fire ahead of Liverpool's clash against Tottenham next Wednesday. Both Spurs and Liverpool are at the top of the Premier League table, level on points but Jose Mourinho's side have a better goal difference after 11 games played. The top of the table clash will take place at Anfield with Alisson likely to return in goal for Liverpool by then.
Image Credits - Tottenham YouTube
Updated 15:28 IST, December 10th 2020