In the English Premier League, Adam Federici played a full game as Reading made it back to back wins with a 2-1 triumph over struggling Newcastle. Federici was arguably man of the match, making a series of stunning first half saves to keep his side in the contest after they fell behind from Yohan Cabaye’s free-kick. After earlier denying Cabaye, Federici twice repelled Papiss Cisse, the second a stunning block from Cisse’s close range header.

Brad Jones returned to the Liverpool starting line-up and made the most of the opportunity, keeping a clean sheet as Liverpool thumped Norwich 5-0. Jones was barely called upon as Liverpool dominated the Canaries from start to finish and may find himself involved in next week’s cup tie against Oldham Athletic as regular number one Pepe Reina faces a race against time to recover from a thigh injury.

Mark Schwarzer played a full game in goal for Fulham as they lost 2-0 to champions Manchester City. Schwarzer was beaten twice by David Silva as City barely got out of second gear, adding to Fulham’s miserable form slump.

Brett Holman was a 66th minute substitute as Aston Villa again threw away vital points, drawing 2-2 with West Bromwich Albion after earlier taking a 2-0 lead. Holman had two opportunities to make the points safe but failed to test Baggies ‘keeper Ben Foster on both occasions. Chris Herd missed the clash with a fractured foot.

In the Championship, Rhys Williams played 90 minutes as Middlesbrough’s poor start to 2013 continued, losing 1-0 to Leicester City. Williams began the match in midfield but resorted to rightback following an injury to Justin Hoyte. Williams looked to have earned his side a share of the points, winning a penalty in second half stoppage time, but the resultant spotkick was missed by Marvin Emnes.  Scott McDonald started and played 72 minutes in the clash but was fairly quiet, with his one moment of quality coming in the first half as he forced Kasper Schmeichel into a fine save from a tight angle.

Elsewhere, Mile Jedinak played 90 minutes as Crystal Palace drew 0-0 with Bolton, while Neil Kilkenny returned to the Bristol City starting line-up, playing 72 minutes as Bristol lost 1-0 to Kilkenny’s former side, Leeds United.

Shane Lowry was missing through suspension as Millwall lost 2-0 to Burnley, while Patrick Kisnorbo was an unused substitute as Ipswich Town drew 1-1 to Barnsley. Elsewhere, Seb Usai was an unused substitute as Blackburn lost 2-1 to Charlton Athletic.

In League One, Dean Bouzanis played 90 minutes as Oldham Athletic suffered a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Coventry City. Bouzanis had a fine game in goal, making several quality saves, the pick coming in the second half to deny Leon Clark’s header. Bouzanis was beaten with virtually the last kick of the game as James Bailey’s strike won the points for Coventry. Alex Cisak was an unused substitute, while James Wesolowski was absent from the match-day squad through suspension.

In League Two, Jamie Young kept a clean sheet as Aldershot Town played out a 0-0 draw with York City. Young made a series of fine saves as Aldershot stretched their unbeaten run to five games and are three points clear of the relegation zone.

In the Scottish Premier League, Dylan McGowan started and played 71 minutes as Hearts were beaten 4-1 by Celtic, while Alex Baird was an unused substitute as Dundee FC drew 1-1 with Hibernian.

In the Scottish Second Division, Marc Warren played a full game as Airdrie United lost 2-1 to Dumbarton.

In the German Bundesliga, Robbie Kruse played 90 minutes and provided an assist as Fortuna Dusseldorf lost 3-2 to Augsburg. After falling behind 3-0 due to come calamitous defending, Dusseldorf launched a comeback in the final 20 minutes with Kruse providing the ball on a platter for Stefan Reisinger after a classy dribble through traffic and a cut-back from the right by-line which the German couldn’t miss.

Mitch Langerak was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund thumped Werder Bremen 5-0, while Nikita Rukavytsya was absent from the match-day squad as FSV Mainz played out a 0-0 draw with Freiburg.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Michael Zullo played 90 minutes as FC Utrecht beat FC Groningen 2-0. In freezing conditions, Zullo’s cross into the box on 55 minutes was handled by Groningen defender Ed Janssen, with Alexander Gerndt tucking home the resultant penalty to opening the scoring for Utrecht.   Adam Sarota played the full 90 minutes in the clash, while Tommy Oar was absent with a hamstring problem.

Jason Davidson played the full 90 minutes in the centre of defence as Heracles beat SC Heerenveen 1-0, while Travis Cooper was absent from the VVV Venlo side that lost 1-0 to NAC Breda.

In the Portuguese Primeira Liga, Caleb Patterson-Sewell was an unused substitute as Vitoria Setubal lost 4-1 to Sporting Braga. 

In the Italian Serie A, James Troisi was an unused substitute as Atalanta drew 1-1 with Cagliari.

In the Greek Super League, Giannis Simosis was a 62nd minute substitute as AO Kerkyra played out a 0-0 draw with SKODA Xanthi.

Simosis was in action in the Greek Cup on Thursday, playing 90 minutes and scoring for AO Kerkyra in their 2-1 first leg loss to Levadiakos. Simosis, who trialed with both Adelaide United and Western Sydney Wanderers before his move to Kerkyra, scored the equaliser on 30 minutes, pouncing on a loose ball in the six yard box after a shot at goal was parried by Levadiakos goalkeeper Alex Kasmeridis.

In the UAE on Thursday, Dino Djulbic made his debut for Al Wahda, playing 90 minutes in their 1-0 loss to Al Ain. Alex Brosque played the full 90 minutes for Al Ain and went close to scoring on 78 minutes, as his goal-bound header was superbly saved by Al Wahda ‘keeper Adil Al Hosani.

In Iran, Milan Susak was absent with an adductor strain as Sepahan beat Saipa Karaj 3-0.

In Indonesia, former Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar youth-team player Dane Milovanovic found the back of the net as Pelita Bandung Raya lost 3-2 to Mitra Kukar.