Giorgi Mamardashvili: Liverpool loanee’s highs and lows in 2024/25 assessed

Giorgi Mamardashvili

Giorgi Mamardashvili will arrive at Liverpool in the summer

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Giorgi Mamardashvili will arrive at Liverpool this summer – but how has the goalkeeper performed over the course of the season?

Liverpool signed Mamardashvili from Valencia last summer in a deal worth up to £29million (€33.5m, $37.1m), although it was agreed he’d stay at the LaLiga side for the 2024/25 campaign.

The Georgia international ranked fourth in LaLiga for clean sheets last season and also won plaudits with his brilliant performances at Euro 2024.

But his move to Liverpool still took people by surprise as the club already boasts two highly capable goalkeepers in Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher.

TEAMtalk have taken a look at Mamardashvili’s form for Valencia in the 2024/25 campaign and how he may feature in Arne Slot’s plans.

His 2024/25 form

Mamardashvili initially made a strong start to the 2024/25 season, saving a penalty from former Liverpool striker Iago Aspas in a game against Celta Vigo in August.

In October, the 24-year-old made a stunning double save in stoppage time to earn his side a 1-1 draw with Getafe.

At the Ballon d’Or ceremony, he came seventh in the voting for the Yashin Trophy – which is awarded to the best goalkeeper in the world.

But the Georgia international missed Valencia’s last three games of 2024 with a thigh injury and his fortunes took a turn for the worse after his return to fitness.

In January, he weakly conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Sevilla and also ran out of his penalty area to gift a goal to Raphinha in a 7-1 defeat to Barcelona.

Following a 3-3 draw with Osasuna, a report on Spanish outlet AS said: “Mamardashvili has not been a miracle-working goalkeeper for some time now. He has become mundane.”

The goalkeeper made another high-profile error against Real Valladolid in March when his poor pass was intercepted by Juanmi Latasa, who scored an equaliser.

“I know I’m not in my best moment now, but I’m convinced that challenges make us stronger,” he wrote on social media after the game. “I’m putting in my best effort to be the best version of me as soon as possible.”

His performances prompted calls for him to be dropped for backup goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, although Valencia manager Carlos Corberan has kept faith in his No.1.

“I really liked his reaction during the second half of the last match,” Corberan said. “Football is a game of getting things right and errors.

“Giorgi had both. I understand the debate as to his position, but I’m focused on the work we’re doing, and it’s been a completely normal week.”

The goalkeeper has since started to rediscover his best form and Valencia are currently on a five-match unbeaten run in La Liga.

He recently starred in their 2-1 win over Real Madrid and made a total of eight saves at the Santiago Bernabeu, preventing 2.28xG worth of goals.

Among the eight stops he made during the match was a penalty save from Vinicius Junior, and he was labelled ‘heroic’ by AS.

“It was an exercise in great effort and resilience,” Corberan said after the game. “You have to do everything perfectly, but in the moments where Real Madrid outplayed us, we had Giorgi Mamardashvili, who was one of the key players in the game.”

His statistics 

Overall, Mamardashvili has conceded 41 goals in 26 LaLiga appearances in the 2024/25 season and has kept six clean sheets for Valencia.

Real Valladolid’s Karl Hein (2.25), Leganes’ Marko Dmitrovic (1.67) and Las Palmas’ Jasper Cillessen (1.62) are the only goalkeepers to concede more goals per 90 in LaLiga this season than the Valencia star (1.58).

While these figures don’t exactly bode well ahead of his move to Liverpool in the summer, Valencia have been battling to avoid relegation this season.

Their poor defensive record this season has often been attributed to the defensive frailties in front of him rather than Mamardashvili.

The Georgia international is regularly called into action and is making 2.6 saves per 90 league minutes in 2024/25 – a rate superior to that of both Alisson and Kelleher.

But he does hold the second-lowest save percentage in LaLiga in 2024/25, stopping just 63.8% of the shots he has faced. In the previous two seasons, his save percentage has never dropped below 70%.

The goalkeeper is also underperforming his post-shot expected goals (PsxG), having conceded 2.1 more strikes than anticipated. In the 2023/24 campaign, that metric was a 10.2 in his favour.

On the ball, Mamardashvili has a 61.6% passing accuracy and 38.1% of his passes in LaLiga in 2024/25 have been directed into the opposition’s half.

He will have to adapt to a different style of play when he arrives at Liverpool, who focus heavily on possession-based football.

Next season

TEAMtalk understands that Liverpool have no plans to send Mamardashvili out on loan once again and will look to integrate him into the side straight away.

Kelleher is expected to leave Anfield in the summer in search of regular first-team football and has been linked with Newcastle United, Bournemouth and Leeds United.

Liverpool will still have Alisson, who is widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world and is under contract until the end of the 2026/27 season.

But he has also become increasingly injury-prone and Mamardashvili has vowed to challenge the Brazil international for the starting spot next season.

“I am going to Liverpool to fight for the number one spot,” he said. “I will go there to train at my best and I don’t know what they will decide afterward. I don’t decide who plays and who doesn’t.”

In all likelihood, Alisson will start the 2025/26 season as the first-choice goalkeeper at Anfield and Mamardashvili will replace Kelleher as his backup.

But an eventual succession plan is in place and the Georgia international will get opportunities to impress in the cup competitions.

Slot could potentially alternate the pair in order to ensure a smoother transition and ease Mamardashvili into Premier League football.

READ MORE: Alexander-Arnold next: The last 10 Liverpool players to leave for LaLiga – hits or misses?

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