Ben Doak was one of four Liverpool players to make their debuts on loan over the weekend, but it was two left-backs who starred for their temporary clubs.
Doak made the move to Middlesbrough on deadline day, but before he could make his first appearance for Michael Carrick’s side he joined up with the Scotland national team.
After outings against Poland and Portugal for his country, the teenager was named in the squad as Boro hosted Preston in the Championship.
Carrick stressed before the game that he would “have to be a little bit patient with him,” and that may have explained Doak’s lack of minutes in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
But after replacing the ineffective Isaiah Jones for the final 22 minutes against Preston, he was given a six-out-of-10 rating by TeessideLive after providing a “bit of spark” on the right flank.
Calum Scanlon was another to make his debut over the weekend, coming off the bench to take over from Joe Bryan at left-back as Millwall lost 1-0 to Luton.
Lewis Koumas, Calvin Ramsay and Nat Phillips were also used as substitutes, the latter debuting for Derby in a 1-0 win over former club Cardiff City.
The headline-grabbers were both at left-back, though, with Luke Chambers arguably the standout as he netted the fourth goal in Wigan’s 4-0 win over Bristol Rovers.
Chambers, 20, made his sixth start of the season for Shaun Maloney’s side, and marked it with an outrageous free-kick similar to Fabio Aurelio’s against Chelsea back in 2009.
Owen Beck was similarly strong as he dominated in Blackburn’s 3-0 victory over Bristol City in the Championship.
Per FotMob, Beck made more defensive actions than any other player (13) as well as winning the most duels (11/16), while also creating the joint-most chances (two).
The Lancashire Telegraph‘s Elliott Jackson rated Beck a nine out of 10, having witnessed “another really impressive performance.”
“Looks tailor-made for the position, bundles of energy up and down that flank,” Jackson wrote. “He can defend too, which is often a weakness in a young full-back.”
Elsewhere, there were 90 minutes for both Luca Stephenson and Rhys Williams, while Jakub Ojrzynski made his debut for Cypriot Second Division side Spartakos Kitiou.
Less fortunate were goalkeepers Marcelo Pitaluga and Fabian Mrozek – unused in Scotland and Sweden respectively – while Kaide Gordon‘s wait for a debut at Norwich goes on as he watched their 1-0 loss to Swansea as an unused substitute.
Stefan Bajcetic is yet to feature for Red Bull Salzburg, with their weekend fixture postponed due to bad weather – but his debut could come against Sparta Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Liverpool Loan Watch Roundup
- Luke Chambers (Wigan) – 90 mins vs. Bristol Rovers, goal
- Owen Beck (Blackburn) – 90 mins vs. Bristol City
- Ben Doak (Middlesbrough) – 22 mins vs. Preston
- Lewis Koumas (Stoke) – 32 mins vs. Oxford United
- Calvin Ramsay (Wigan) – 10 mins vs. Bristol Rovers
- Nat Phillips (Derby) – 8 mins vs. Cardiff
- Calum Scanlon (Millwall) – 11 mins vs. Luton
- Luca Stephenson (Dundee United) – 90 mins vs. Rangers
- Rhys Williams (Morecambe) – 90 mins vs. Colchester
- Jakub Ojrzynski (Spartakos Kitiou) – 90 mins vs. Olympiakos Nicosia
Unused: Gordon, Pitaluga, Mrozek
Not in action: Bajcetic
