Liverpool’s Transfer Strategy Given Major Test by Huge Injury Blow

Liverpool have confirmed that first-choice goalkeeper Alisson will not be part of the squad which takes on Galatasaray in Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 tie, heaping the pressure on Giorgi Mamardashvili.

Alisson has been Liverpool’s undisputed No. 1 since joining the club for a record-breaking fee in the summer of 2018. The Brazil international may be 33 but his quality remains unquestioned. At this exact stage of the competition last season Alisson produced a masterclass against Paris Saint-Germain which rightly saw him hailed by Slot and everyone else as the best goalkeeper on the planet.

However, that reliable positioning does not extend to his fitness record. Alisson’s hamstrings have caused him problems throughout his Liverpool career. As recently as October, he missed an eight-game burst with a muscular issue.

This regrettable inevitability is precisely why Liverpool signed Mamardashvili. The highly rated custodian was bought in 2024 and arrived from Valencia over the following summer. Alisson’s autumnal absence provided the 25-year-old with an earlier opportunity to prove his worth as more than a No. 2—it would be hard to make the case that he took that chance.

Now with a daunting trip to Istanbul racing over the horizon, Liverpool will have to once again rely upon the somewhat shaky shot-stopper.

Liverpool’s Confirmed Champions League Squad vs. Galatasaray

Arne Slot is up against Galatasaray again on Tuesday. | Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar/Getty Images

Goalkeepers

Giorgi Mamardashvili
Freddie Woodman
Kornel Misciur

Defenders

Joe Gomez
Virgil van Dijk
Ibrahima Konaté
Milos Kerkez
Andy Robertson
Jeremie Frimpong
Amara Nallo

Midfielders

Florian Wirtz
Dominik Szoboszlai
Alexis Mac Allister
Curtis Jones
Ryan Gravenberch
Trey Nyoni
Kieran Morrison

Forwards

Cody Gakpo
Hugo Ekitiké
Rio Ngumoha
Mohamed Salah

Giorgi Mamardashvili’s Muddled Liverpool Start

Mamardashvili can certainly talk the talk. The star of Euro 2024 bounded into his debut Anfield season boasting about the prospect of challenging Alisson for the club’s No. 1 spot. Yet his walk hasn’t been so convincing.

Across 11 appearances in all competitions this season, Mamardashvili has conceded 17 goals, kept three clean sheets and lost more than half of his matches (six). Liverpool’s backline has been painfully porous this term, offering whoever has been between the posts little protection, yet Mamardashvili has not done well with the shots that have flown his way.

Based upon the speed and trajectory of the efforts Mamardashvili has faced across his nine outings in the Premier League and Champions League, the average keeper would have been expected to concede about 12 goals. Mamardashvili has shipped 15.

Alisson has not been at his imperious best this term either: Using the same metric, the Brazilian No. 1 has conceded two more goals than expected. However, modern goalkeeping is more than just shot-stopping, especially at a team as dominant on the ball as Liverpool.

The main issue with Mamardashvili is the sense of unease caused whenever he gets on the ball, invariably waiting too long to bait a press which catches him by surprise. October’s defeat to Manchester United proved to be a particularly chastening evening for the Georgian.

Slot, for his part, has gone out of his way to praise Mamardashvili at every opportunity. “In an ideal world you don’t need your goalkeeper,” he mused in February. “But the good thing for us is if we do need a goalkeeper we have an outstanding one [Alisson].

“We’ve already had him now for seven years and the good thing is we not only have one good goalkeeper, we have Giorgi Mamardashvili also—a goalkeeper who could be a No. 1.” He will have to be Liverpool’s No. 1 this Tuesday night.