Giorgi Mamardashvili has said that the information given to him about Chelsea’s penalty takers prior to Liverpool’s Carabao Cup shootout win over the Blues was erroneous.
With the teams level at 1-1 at the end of normal time, the tie would be settled on spot kicks, and the Reds prevailed 6-5 after sudden death to advance to a home quarter-final against Bournemouth.
At the end of the shootout, the home players flocked to the Georgian goalkeeper, whose save from Emmanuel Emegha proved the turning point as the Dutchman had the opportunity to win it for the visitors with his kick.
Mamardashvili: Chelsea penalty notes were wrong
It was the only one of Chelsea’s eight penalties that Mamardashvili actually saved (Valentin Barco struck the post and Wesley Fofana skied his into the Kop), and the 26-year-old joked afterwards that his notes on the Blues’ penalty takers weren’t of much use to him.
Speaking to ITV after the match, Liverpool’s number 25 said: “I had this paper as well, but everything was wrong!”, adding that the information provided to him by club staff wasn’t helpful during the shootout.
On the save from Emegha, the goalkeeper explained: “Before the shot I was looking at his [standing] leg, where he puts it down. I decided to go to my right side. I wanted to save more but sometimes one is enough.”
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Mamardashvili saved the one which mattered the most
Perhaps Mamardashvili was disappointed with his save ratio from the eight Chelsea penalties – excluding shootouts, he’s saved 10 out of 29 faced in his career – but he came good for Liverpool in the one moment that they needed him most (the save from Emegha).
The Georgian guessed the right direction on five of the Blues’ spot kicks, and while he was given no chance with Levi Colwill’s powerful strike, he won’t be happy to have let Morgan Rogers’ spot kick squirm under his dive.
The 26-year-old also did his bit to ensure that his team made it to the penalty shootout, pulling off smart reaction saves from Rogers and Marco Palestra in the second half, and he’ll be satisfied with his overall performance whilst standing in for Alisson Becker.
Mamardashvili will probably have to wait until the quarter-final against Bournemouth in mid-December to make his next Liverpool appearancve, unless his Brazilian counterpart is rendered unavailable in the meantime.
However, the towering Georgia international showed last night that he’s capable of stepping up and delivering when the Reds need him. If he’s involved in another penalty shootout later in the season, hopefully the notes given to him will be more accurate this time!