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Giorgi Mamardashvili isn’t exactly having the smoothest preparation for his move to Liverpool later this year.
The Georgian goalkeeper was signed by the Reds last August, but he’s remained at Valencia for the current campaign as part of the deal; and in stark contrast to how Arne Slot’s charges are flying, Los Ches have had a nightmare in 2024/25.
The two-time Champions League finalists have been mired in the LaLiga relegation zone for most of the season and have only 12 matches remaining to rescue themselves from the dreaded drop, and their plans for top-flight survival were dealt a setback last weekend.
Mamardashvili endures another difficult night
Mamardashvili was beaten three times as Valencia were held to a 3-3 draw away to Osasuna, having twice relinquished a winning position before requiring an equaliser just to salvage a point.
The Liverpool-bound goalkeeper may feel that he could’ve done better with the two goals scored by Aimar Oroz, including a mishit volley which bounced up off the ground.
When his manager Carlos Corberan was asked about his performance post-match, he appeared to aim a veiled criticism at the 24-year-old by saying (via Liverpool Echo): “I don’t like to publicly evaluate individual performances. We compensate for any performances below the usual level of our players with a lot of work.”
Mamardashvili not having the best of seasons at Valencia
Although the Valencia boss didn’t explicitly rebuke Mamardashvili, his words in response to a question about the goalkeeper seemed to suggest that he wasn’t impressed with how the Georgian has been playing.
He conceded three times against Osasuna from an xG of 1.52 (Sofascore) and has underperformed on his post-shot xG in La Liga this season by 4.6 (FBref), figures which don’t exactly bode well for his move to Liverpool in a few months’ time.
He’s also had some worrying moments to forget, such as his horrendous misjudgment in racing out of his penalty area only to gift a goal to Raphinha in a 7-1 drubbing by Barcelona in January.
In defence of Mamardashvili, he hasn’t been helped by playing in a Valencia team who’ve been dreadful throughout the campaign, and he showed at Euro 2024 last summer just why the Reds seem willing to sacrifice Caoimhin Kelleher in favour of him.
Maybe when he’s playing behind a much more stable defence at Liverpool, we’ll see the best of the 24-year-old, who should only benefit from training alongside arguably the best in the business in Alisson Becker once he moves to Merseyside.
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