Liverpool switches keeper
- Liverpool brought on Freddie Woodman after Iñaki Mamardashvili left with an injury. - Woodman’s last league start before this was in March 2025 for Preston, per the substitution note. - The change was made during recent match action and raised immediate questions about Liverpool’s goalkeeper depth. (x.com)
Liverpool had to turn to Freddie Woodman in the Merseyside derby on Sunday after Giorgi Mamardashvili went off injured, pushing the club to its third senior goalkeeper during the match. (sports.yahoo.com) Woodman joined Liverpool on a free transfer in the summer of 2025 after his contract with Preston North End expired, and the club signed him to “bolster the goalkeeping ranks,” Liverpool said on June 27, 2025. Liverpool’s official squad page lists him as part of the first-team goalkeeping group with Alisson Becker and Mamardashvili. (liverpoolfc.com 1) (liverpoolfc.com 2) The substitution carried extra weight because Alisson had already missed time this season with a hamstring injury, and the Premier League said in October 2025 that Mamardashvili had stepped in after Alisson was ruled out for multiple matches. By Sunday, Liverpool’s depth chart had shifted again, this time in the middle of a derby. (premierleague.com) (sports.yahoo.com) Woodman arrived at Anfield with a long second-tier résumé rather than recent top-flight minutes. Liverpool says he made 138 appearances for Preston across three seasons, after earlier spells with Newcastle United, Swansea City, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen. (liverpoolfc.com) The Premier League’s player page shows Woodman had four league appearances for Liverpool before Sunday, but no Premier League starts this season. ESPN’s season log listed him with zero starts and zero substitute appearances in the league before the Everton match. (premierleague.com) (espn.com) Liverpool rebuilt this goalkeeper group over the last year. The Premier League’s 2025 summer transfer overview listed Mamardashvili and Woodman among the club’s incoming signings, while Liverpool’s registered squad for 2025-26 also included young goalkeeper Ármin Pécsi. (premierleague.com 1) (premierleague.com 2) That left Sunday’s switch as more than a routine substitution. It was a live test of how Liverpool’s summer depth plan holds up when the first-choice and next-choice options are both unavailable at different points of the season. (premierleague.com) (sports.yahoo.com) For Woodman, the moment also revived a career that had been built largely outside the Premier League spotlight. Liverpool signed him for experience and cover; on Sunday, they needed both at once. (liverpoolfc.com)
