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Liverpool won a pair of friendlies — 4-1 and 3-2 — against Athletic Bilbao on Monday. The side returned to Anfield for the first time after forward Diogo Jota's death. Tributes rang throughout the home stadium in both contests.
The club has now released its typical "Behind the Scenes" tunnel footage of both games, which featured a pair of Liverpool debutants: striker Hugo Ekitike and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. The players seemed to generate a positive buzz both from the crowd and their Reds teammates.
Both debuted in the second after talented 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha lit up the first fixture with a stunning solo goal just two minutes into the match.
Ekitike
Liverpool signed the forward from Frankfurt for an initial £69 million ($92 million) in late July. The club recently announced his No. 22 jersey number: it was conveniently stationed next to fellow Frenchman Ibrahima Konate's No. 5, as captured on Liverpool's YouTube.
Ekitike wasn't featured much in the tunnel, though he was captured at one point looking jittery. Both Dominik Szoboszlai and match captain Wataru Endo came over to offer the 23-year-old a hug.
Then, he let his game do the talking. Ekitike carried a delightful through-ball from Szoboszlai all the way to the touchline before deftly squaring it back to Mohamed Salah at the top of the box.
The Egyptian slotted home into the Bilbao net to earn the French forward his first preseason goal contribution for the club — his Reds teammates rushed to congratulate him after the finish. A strong performance will help him earn a place in head coach Arne Slot's team (critical considering the pending arrival of Alexander Isak).
Mamardashvili
Liverpool purchased the Georgian international from Valencia for an initial £25.6 million ($34.2 million) in the summer of 2024 before loaning him back to the Spanish side last campaign.
Multiple Bilbao players and staff clearly remembered Mamardashvili. Unai Simon, a Spanish international and the team's starting goalkeeper, smiled when he saw the Liverpool player emerge in the tunnel before the goalies entered the pitch together.
Longtime Bilbao forward Inaki Williams made sure to pat Mamardashvili (the only player he approached) while the two teams lined up before the match.
After the contest, Mamardashvili was captured having a lengthy conversation with a member of the Bilbao staff as the pair entered the tunnel together.
Nine of Mamardashvili's 134 appearances for Valencia came against Athletic Club: in them, he kept two clean sheets and recorded just a solitary victory..The Georgian's record in La Liga was much better: he kept 36 clean sheets across 127 matches.
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