Ben Doak marked his full debut for Middlesbrough with a goal, while another Liverpool loanee came away with two assists in a productive weekend’s action.
Since joining Middlesbrough on loan at the end of the transfer window it has been a slow adjustment period for Doak, with two cameos against Preston and Sunderland.
But with manager Michael Carrick needing to add an X factor to his attack, the 18-year-old was brought in for his first start in Saturday’s clash with Stoke.
It brought a meeting of Liverpool loanees as Lewis Koumas started out wide for Stoke, the teenager making his seventh start.
Doak proved to be the difference-maker in a 2-0 victory for Middlesbrough, converting on the rebound after Viktor Johansson palmed out Riley McGree’s long-range effort.
It was the youngster’s first professional goal, coming in only his fifth start at senior level.
According to FotMob, Doak also created the joint-most chances (four) and attempted the second-most shots (four) while winning both of his attempted tackles (100%).
Koumas was less involved, touching the ball only 22 times and completing six of his eight attempted passes (75%), though he did create a chance in his 79 minutes on the pitch.
Elsewhere, Luca Stephenson produced an excellent individual display as he came away with two official assists and also won a penalty in Dundee United’s chaotic 3-3 draw with Kilmarnock.
The industrious youngster played at right-back and teed up Louis Moult’s opener with a smart cutback after hitting the byline.
Kilmarnock scored three goals to turn the tie around for a 3-1 lead, before Stephenson added another assist with a pass across to Craig Sibbald, who did the rest from outside the box.
A draw was secured when Stephenson was brought down in the box after an energetic burst, with Ross Graham firing home in the ninth minute of added time to secure a point.
Only three other loanees were in action over the weekend, including Stefan Bajcetic who clocked another 68 minutes for Pepijn Lijnders‘ Salzburg in a 2-0 win over Austria Wien.
Luke Chambers played the full 90 minutes at left-back for Wigan in their dull 0-0 draw with Exeter City, while Giorgi Mamardashvili was powerless to stop Martin Zubimendi’s Real Sociedad as Valencia lost 3-0.
Kaide Gordon, Nat Phillips and Marcelo Pitaluga all went unused on the bench while there were as yet unexplained absences for Calvin Ramsay, Rhys Williams and Jakub Ojrzynski.
Left-back Calum Scanlon has returned to Liverpool for treatment on a stress fracture in his back sustained at Millwall and Owen Beck began his three-match suspension by watching on as Blackburn beat QPR 2-0.
Liverpool Loan Watch Roundup
- Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia) – 90 mins vs. Real Sociedad
- Ben Doak (Middlesbrough) – 71 mins vs. Stoke, goal
- Luca Stephenson (Dundee United) – 90 mins vs. Kilmarnock, 2 assists
- Stefan Bajcetic (Salzburg) – 68 mins vs. Austria Wien
- Lewis Koumas (Stoke) – 79 mins vs. Middlesbrough
- Luke Chambers (Wigan) – 90 mins vs. Exeter City
Unused: Kaide Gordon, Nat Phillips, Marcelo Pitaluga
Not in squad: Calvin Ramsay, Jakub Ojrzynski, Rhys Williams
Suspended: Owen Beck
Injured: Calum Scanlon
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