In the English Premier League, Mark Schwarzer played a starring role for Fulham in their 1-0 win over Stoke City. After earlier denying Jon Walters from close range in the first half, Schwarzer pulled off a fine penalty save just after half time from Walters, diving low to his right to save and gathering the ball before a Stoke player could pounce on the loose ball.

Adam Federici had a fine game in goal despite Reading’s disappointing 3-0 home loss to Wigan Athletic. Federici was clearly the Royals shining light, producing a number of fine saves throughout the contest with the highlight coming early in the first half when Federici denied Franco Di Santo with a superb low diving save.

Elsewhere, Brett Holman was an unused substitute as Aston Villa lost 2-1 at Arsenal. Chris Herd was absent with a foot injury.

In the League Cup Final, Curtis Good started but was replaced at half-time as Bradford City’s fairytale cup run ended on a sour note, copping a 5-0 thumping from Swansea. James Meredith was absent from the Bradford match-day squad.

In the Europa League on Thursday, Brad Jones was absent with a shoulder problem as Liverpool bowed out of the competition following a 3-2 aggregate loss to Zenit St Petersburg.

In the Championship, Scott McDonald returned from injury but it mattered little as Middlesbrough’s alarming drop in form continued, losing 2-1 to Millwall. McDonald came on in the 68th minute and thought he earned his side a share of the points in the final minute when his clever backheel found the back of the net, only to be ruled out for offside. Rhys Williams started in the clash but was replaced at half-time following a sluggish first-half display. Shane Lowry missed the clash with suspension. The result see’s Boro drop out of the promotion playoff spots for the first time since October, while Millwall jump to 13th, 7 points behind Boro.

Mile Jedinak played a full game as Crystal Palace slipped to a disappointing 1-0 loss at Sheffield Wednesday, while Neil Kilkenny played the final 14 minutes of Bristol City’s stirring 5-3 win over Barnsley, a result which sees them jump off the bottom of the table.

Elsewhere, Patrick Kisnorbo was an unused substitute as Ipswich Town played out a 0-0 draw with Huddersfield, while Seb Usai was an unused substitute as Blackburn Rovers drew 0-0 with Leeds United.

In League One, Bradden Inman started and played 88 minutes as Crewe Alexandra beat Coventry City 2-1.

Dean Bouzanis kept a clean-sheet as Oldham Athletic continued their good recent form with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth. Bouzanis was merely a spectator as 10-man Portsmouth showed little signs of attacking quality or intent. Alex Cisak was an unused substitute for Oldham, while James Wesolowski was missing with a hamstring problem.

Elsewhere, Bailey Wright played a full game in defence as Preston North End drew 1-1 with Swindon Town.

In League Two, Jamie Young kept a clean-sheet as Aldershot Town boosted their survival chances with a 2-0 win over 9-man Fleetwood Town.

Shane Cansdell-Sherriff played 90 minutes as Rochdale drew 0-0 with Barnet, while Aaron Downes started but was substituted midway through the first half with a hamstring injury in Torquay’s 1-0 loss to Port Vale.

Elsewhere, Ryan Williams was an unused substitute as high flying Gillingham beat Chesterfield 1-0.

In the Scottish Premier League, Tom Rogic was a 65th minute substitute as Celtic thumped bottom placed Dundee FC 5-0. Rogic was involved in his side’s fourth goal, spreading the ball wide to Anthony Stokes who in turn found Joe Ledley who scored his second of the game. Alex Baird was an unused substitute for Dundee.

Elsewhere, Dylan McGowan was an unused substitute as Hearts poor season continued, losing 3-2 at home to Inverness.

In the Scottish Second Division, Marc Warren was absent through suspension as Airdrie United lost 1-0 to Partick Thistle.

In the German Bundesliga, Robbie Kruse was missing with Bronchitis as Fortuna Dusseldorf lost 2-1 to Schalke, while Mitch Langerak was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund drew 1-1 with rivals Borussia Monchengladbach.

Elsewhere, Nikita Rukavytsya was again absent as FSV Mainz drew 1-1 with Wolfsburg.

In the German Second Division, Mathew Leckie was a half time substitute but had little impact as FSV Frankfurt’s promotion bid took a hit, losing 3-0 to St Pauli. Frankfurt is now six points away from the promotion playoff spot.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Tommy Oar found the back of the net in FC Utrecht’s 4-0 win over Roda Kerkrade. Oar, starting his first game since late December following a hamstring injury, scored his side’s third goal just after half time with a poaching effort, pouncing on the loose ball after Roda ‘keeper Filip Kurto had parried Jacob Mulenga’s shot. Michael Zullo started at left-back and played 67 minutes, however he was taken off with an ankle injury, an untimely setback given regular left-back Dave Bulthuis remains out with injury. Adam Sarota was missing with a knee injury.

Jason Davidson was absent from the match-day squad as Heracles lost 5-3 to Vitesse. Elsewhere, Travis Cooper was absent from the VVV Venlo side that beat RKC Waalwijk 1-0.

In Austria, James Holland played 90 minutes in midfield as Austria Wien thumped Admira 4-0.

In the Italian Serie A, James Troisi was an unused substitute as Atalanta lost 3-2 to AS Roma.

In the Serie B, Carl Valeri was absent with injury as Sassuolo remained top with a hard fought 1-0 win over Vicenza.

In the Greek Super League, Giannis Simosis was absent from the match-day squad as Kerkyra lost 1-0 to PAOK.

In Portugal, Caleb Patterson-Sewell was an unused substitute as Vitoria Setubal beat Beria-Mar 1-0.

In Turkey, Kerem Bulut was an unused substitute as Akhisar Belediyespor beat Kardemir Karabukspor 2-0. The win see’s Akhisar jump off the bottom of the table, however they are still 4 points from safety. Elsewhere, Aziz Behich was absent from the Bursapor side that lost 2-1 to Gaziantepspor.

In the UAE, Alex Brosque played the full 90 minutes as Al Ain suffered a shock 1-0 loss to relegation threatened Dibba Al Fujairah, ending their unbeaten league run of 14 games dating back to September last year. Despite the loss, Al Ain remains six points clear at the top of the table.

Dino Djulbic played a full game in defence as Al Wahda beat struggling Dubai 3-0. Richard Porta played a full game for Dubai but was starved of opportunities and has now not scored a goal since late November.

Elsewhere, Nick Carle was an unused substitute as Baniyas beat Al Shaab 3-1. Carle, a regular starter and contributor for Baniyas, has been left on the bench in the past two fixtures.

In Qatar, Sasa Ognenovski played a full game in defence as Umm Salal beat Sailiya SC 1-0, while Matt Spiranovic was absent with an ankle injury as Al Arabi lost 1-0 to Al Jaish, a result which leaves them stranded in the relegation playoff position.

Elsewhere, Mark Bresciano started and played 86 minutes as Al Gharafa lost 2-0 to Khor SC.

In Iran, Milan Susak was missing through suspension as Sepahan beat Malavan 3-1.