Liverpool loanee keeps 11th clean sheet in 22 as left-back makes league debut

November 14, 2022
Jack Lusby

Liverpool goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga continued his excellent start to life on loan with an 11th clean sheet, while left-back Owen Beck took a big step.

Heading to non-league Macclesfield may have been a surprise move for Brazilian import Pitaluga, but it is proving to be a valuable loan spell for the 19-year-old.

The opportunity to test himself in difficult conditions, against physical, determined opponents, should steel him for the challenges ahead as part of Liverpool’s first-team squad.

It is encouraging, then, that Pitaluga’s record so far stands at 11 clean sheets in 22 games, with only 14 goals conceded in that time.

? Excellent start to life on loan for #LFC goalkeeper Marcelo Pitaluga (19) at non-league Macclesfield FC.

? 22 games
?? 11 clean sheets
?? 14 conceded

Still trains with the Liverpool first team every day. pic.twitter.com/A5wUHP9XqD

— Jack Lusby (@LusbyJack) November 14, 2022

The teenager’s latest shutout came on Saturday, with a trip to Trafford in the West Division of the Northern Premier League, ending in a 1-0 victory.

Pitaluga made a series of saves in a game decided by ex-West Ham and Cardiff striker Nicky Maynard’s stunning bicycle kick, maintaining a four-point lead at the top of the table.

While the young stopper is plying his trade with Macclesfield, he still works daily with Liverpool at the AXA Training Centre, and last week was namechecked as part of a “really exciting” group by Jurgen Klopp.

Elsewhere, there was disappointment for Tyler Morton as Blackburn suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to bitter rivals Burnley in the Championship.

Morton made his 15th league start for Rovers but struggled to impose himself, with LancsLive‘s Elliott Jackson explaining that “the game completely passed him by in the second half.”

“Rovers were crying out for someone to put their foot on the ball and he should have been the one sticking his hand up,” was the assessment of a four-out-of-10 performance.

In Scotland, there were better fortunes for Leighton Clarkson as he played 88 minutes in Aberdeen’s 1-0 victory over Dundee United, signing off before a month-long break by climbing to third.

Rhys Williams produced a battling performance for 10-man Blackpool in their 2-1 defeat to Wigan, with centre-back partner Marvin Ekpiteta sent off in the 17th minute.

Lower down in League One, Conor Bradley was joined on the pitch by Beck for the first time in the league, as the left-back came on for the final 12 minutes of Bolton’s 0-0 draw with Cambridge United.

It was a step forward for Beck, who has rarely been used since swapping Famalicao for Bolton at the end of August, and he can hopefully build on that as his side play on throughout the World Cup.

Fidel O’Rourke was unable to add to his recent run of goals as Caernarfon Town lost 2-1 to The New Saints, while Jack Bearne came off the bench in Kidderminster Harriers’ 3-0 loss to King’s Lynn.

There were 90 minutes at left-back for Anderson Arroyo as Alaves beat Lleida 1-0 in the Copa del Rey, and Billy Koumetio was also fielded on the left as Austria Wien II lost 2-0 to Rapid Wien II.