Thibaut Courtois. Alisson. Gianluigi Donnarumma. Manuel Neuer. David Raya.

When you think of world-class goalkeepers, the best in Europe, chances are you’re probably not thinking of former Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius.

Think again. Because Karius is having a season that would make any of those names proud, having produced a string of astonishing performances for beleaguered, newly-promoted Schalke.

It’s quite the turnaround, given his career has been cruelly defined by one game as much as anyone else in football.

More than eight years have passed since the German goalkeeper’s nightmare in the 2018 Champions League final, when two dreadful errors helped Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in Kyiv.

It was a horrible end to a season in which he’d established himself as Jurgen Klopp’s first choice, usurping Simon Mignolet and earning the opportunity to play on the biggest stage.

A concussion was subsequently diagnosed after Sergio Ramos clattered into him, affecting his spatial vision.

Karius himself has said it wasn’t an excuse, but acknowledged: “I performed constantly throughout the whole season, so you can put it this way: under ordinary circumstances I cannot explain those mistakes.”

History is written by the victors, and Karius’ concussion diagnosis was quickly relegated to a footnote. Liverpool needed a new goalkeeper in any case, but Kyiv rubberstamped the decision. There was never going to be any coming back from that night, no matter the mitigation.

Klopp’s Reds completed the final piece of the puzzle by signing Alisson that summer. Karius remained on the books at Anfield for another three years, but was quietly sent out on loan and never played for the club again.

There was little glamour in the years that followed. Regular minutes at Besiktas gave way to a bit-part role at Union Berlin, a spell without a club and eventually third-choice status at Newcastle.

A twist of fate saw him make his Magpies debut in the 2023 Carabao Cup final, one of only two appearances for the club. He did little wrong against Manchester United, but conceded twice in a 2-0 defeat. Fairytale redemption denied.

Karius eventually returned to Germany, joining Schalke in the second tier as the fallen giants plotted their way back to the Bundesliga.

It was an experienced squad, with veteran striker Edin Dzeko among those brought in to help get them over the line. Karius, meanwhile, was enjoying arguably the best form of his career, playing a huge part in their promotion.

There has been no let-up this season, either. Karius has carried his promotion-winning form into the Bundesliga, producing a superb display as Schalke held the champions to a 0-0 draw in September.

The gulf between the sides was ridiculous. Bayern enjoyed 83% possession, registered 2.10 expected goals to Schalke’s 0.21 and had 11 corners to their opponents’ zero. Karius made five saves, including a genuinely mind-blowing full-stretch stop to deny Harry Kane from distance late on.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better goalkeeper performance this season.

The amazing thing is that the Bayern match was no freakish one-off. Karius has been consistently outstanding this season, with the numbers making for remarkable reading. His WhoScored rating of 7.38 is the highest of any goalkeeper to have made at least five appearances across Europe’s five major leagues.

He’s prevented 6.5 goals according to the xG figures, more than any goalkeeper in Germany’s top flight and second only to Real Betis’ Alvaro Valles across Europe’s major leagues. His 41 saves are also the second-most across Europe, and his rate of 5.1 per 90 minutes is equally phenomenal.

Karius is doing it behind a team that has been otherwise largely underwhelming on their long-awaited Bundesliga return. Schalke rank bottom of the Bundesliga for expected points and expected goal difference (-8.9), have won just once in eight games and sit second-bottom in the relegation zone.

Things would be looking considerably bleaker without Karius, their standout player, who is almost single-handedly keeping them in the scrap for survival.

The unlikely resurgence has even seen him touted to earn a reunion with Klopp and a first-ever call-up for the German national team.

“If someone plays like Karius did today, and does so for a few more games, then he automatically comes into the spotlight,” responded German football legend Lothar Matthaus to his performance against Bayern.

“In what universe is it conceivable that Klopp won’t nominate Loris Karius for the next international break?” one reporter asked Schalke manager Miron Muslic back in September.

Karius himself is keeping his feet on the ground and his expectations in check:

“I have neither realistic nor unrealistic expectations. I’m not thinking about it at the moment, to be honest,” he responded when asked about the possibility of the call.

“When others bring me into the conversation, it’s a nice validation of my work. I just try to help my team on a weekly basis. I just keep going and work hard every day. Everything else either comes or it doesn’t.”

Last month’s extended international break came and went without a call, even when Klopp named an expanded 44-man squad split into two groups, but the speculation alone is a measure of the remarkable work Karius has done to rebuild his career after his lowest moment.

“Up to that point my career had only been going steeply upwards, then I suddenly crashed hard – all the way down to the bottom,” he told the Funke Media Group over the summer.

“I even thought about ending my career, but I was only 25 years old and could not just stay at home. Over the years, I somehow managed to fight my way out of this low on my own.”

Karius had turned to a mental health coach for support, but the sessions failed to lift him from a period in which he seriously contemplated retirement.

“Work hard in silence, let success be your noise,” Harry Kane posted on social media after claiming the Ballon d’Or last week.

Few footballers embody that sentiment better than Karius, whose eight-year journey back from the wilderness has finally brought its rewards.

It’s the comeback story of the season and has been a pleasure to witness.