Overview
- Liverpool confirmed Alisson did not travel after a training complaint, so Giorgi Mamardashvili started the round‑of‑16 first leg in Istanbul.
- Galatasaray won 1–0, with reports noting Mamardashvili’s composed display and key saves that limited the damage for the visitors.
- Galatasaray recorded four shots on target and generated an expected‑goals tally of 1.45, yet Liverpool left with a narrow deficit to overturn at Anfield.
- Mamardashvili has made about 11 appearances this season largely as Alisson’s deputy, and he reiterated on the club’s Reds Roundtable that “my time will come.”
- Spanish reports had suggested he was unhappy, but he dismissed that notion, and longer‑term succession talk remains tempered by an expected one‑year extension in Alisson’s deal.