Can you think of a better way to spend your Friday night than What do you mean yes?
Well, with once again , it felt like the perfect time to start looking toward Liverpool’s future and check out the man who will eventually become the Brazilian’s successor.
will of course be making his way to Anfield next summer after signing for the Reds back in August. , Alisson’s repeated injury problems have shown why it might have actually been a shrewd bit of business.
And with left twiddling his thumbs as he waits for Liverpool’s next game against Chelsea, he, like me, might have been tempted to catch a glimpse of his incoming new goalkeeper in the international break.
Mamardashvili is one of the stars of this Georgia side that has reached new heights under Willy Sagnol, and he gave an exciting glimpse of what Liverpool fans can expect next season during his country’s run to the knockout stages of Euro 2024.
Against Ukraine though, it seemed as though he might be in for a quiet night early on. In fact, when some faulty floodlights Poznan Stadium led to a nine-minute delay, it felt like his night might have been coming to a premature end.
Eventually, though, the game resumed with nothing for Mamardashvili to do until Mykhailo Mudryk struck in the 35th minute. from supporters on social media, having been beaten from distance by not the most venomous strike in the world, although he certainly wasn’t helped by Giorgi Kochorashvili needlessly losing the ball in the center of the park.
Mamardashvili would have been cursing his teammates again shortly after the break after receiving one of the worst pass-backs you will ever see. It was no surprise that he struggled to control it under pressure from Artem Dovbyk, although the assistant’s flag came to his rescue.
So far, it hadn’t quite been Mamardashvili’s best night, but he almost produced a spectacular moment of quick-thinking to bring his side back into the game. Having done well to claim a cross, he immediately booted the ball up toward Georges Mikautadze who had only a couple of Ukrainian defenders for company near the halfway line – think Alisson to against Manchester United or Manchester City.
Unlike Salah, Mikautadze still had a fair bit of work to do, but he managed to shrug off one of the challenges to make his way into the penalty area, only to shoot wide when he should have at least tested Anatoliy Trubin in the Ukraine goal.
Mudryk then came close to doubling Ukraine’s lead, only to be denied by Mamardashvili clawing his shot away after being unsighted by the crowd of players in front of him. That save looked as though it might have earned Georgia a draw when Zuriko Davitashvili’s deflected effort found the back of the net in the 89th minute, only for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to have been adjudged offside in the build-up.
All in all, it was something of a mixed night for Mamardashvili. He arguably could have done better for Mudryk’s goal, but his Alisson-esque distribution also brought Georgia back into the game, which will come as a welcome sign for those fans who were a bit concerned about his distribution beforehand.
Those shot-stopping abilities that were on full show during the summer weren’t really seen here, with Ukraine not testing him out too often. If this can be put down as one of Mamardashvili’s off-nights though, Liverpool can be confident they’re getting top class heir to Alisson.
