In the Capital One Cup, Scott McDonald was again the hero as Middlesbrough progressed to the final eight following a 1-0 win over north-east rivals Sunderland.  McDonald, who was earlier booked for simulation, struck on 39 minutes, turning home Ishmael Miller’s low cross. The diminutive striker was a constant threat and drew a good diving save from Sunderland ‘keeper Keiren Westwood in the second half.

Elsewhere, Chris Herd’s injury troubles struck again, limping off after 30 minutes with a knee injury in Aston Villa’s dramatic 3-2 win over Swindon Town. Brett Holman was an unused substitute in the clash.

Adam Federici returned to the Reading starting line-up for his first game since late August but it was one to forget as Reading threw away a 4-0 lead to lose 7-5 in extra time in a loss that dealt a massive psychological blow for the already struggling Premier League club. Federici only made one save of note with a fine save to deny Oliver Giroud’s header just minutes after the Frenchman had beaten Federici in similar circumstances.

Brad Jones kept his spot between the sticks as Liverpool were eliminated following a disappointing 3-1 loss at home to Swansea. Despite the scoreline, Jones was in fine form, and was voted as Liverpoolfc.com journalists’ man of the match.

Patrick Kisnorbo was absent from the Leeds match-day squad in their 3-0 win over Southampton. Kisnorbo was in action for the Leeds U21 side the day before, scoring in their 2-1 win over Coventry.

James Meredith played the full 120 minutes as Bradford City progressed through to the final 8 after beating Wigan in a penalty shootout after the match finished 0-0. Meredith played his part in defence, clearing Jean Beausejour’s mishit cross off the line in extra time.

In the Scottish League Cup, Ryan McGowan played the full match as Hearts moved through to the semi finals after edging out Dundee United on penalties. McGowan converted a penalty in the 7-4 shootout win, while brother Dylan McGowan was a 109th minute substitute.

Elsewhere, Francesco Stella was absent from the match-day squad as Rangers were beaten 3-0 by Inverness.

In the Italian Serie B, Carl Valeri made his long awaited return to the Sassuolo starting line-up, playing 90 minutes and scoring as Sassuolo beat Ternana Calcio 3-1. Valeri struck the games opener on 62 minutes, volleying home from close range after being involved in the lead-up to the goal.

While in the Serie A, James Troisi was an unused substitute as Atalanta produced a shock 1-0 win over Napoli.

In the German DFB-Pokal Cup, Robbie Kruse put in a lively shift, playing 102 minutes in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 1-0 extra time win over Borussia Monchengladbach. Kruse was arguably Dusseldorf’s best player, creating a handful of chances for his side, most notably winning a penalty in the 83rd minute after being fouled by Juan Arango, however, Jens Langeneke missed the resulting penalty.

Mathew Leckie played 84 minutes as FSV Frankfurt were eliminated following a 2-0 loss to Wolfsburg.

Elsewhere, Nikita Rukavytsya was an unused substitute in FSV Mainz’s 2-0 win over Erzgebirge Aue, as was Mitch Langerak in Borussia Dortmund's 4-1 win over second tier VFR Aalen.

In Holland, Jason Davidson was an unused substitute as Hercales beat Sparta Rotterdam 2-0 in the KNVB Beker Cup.

In Austria, James Holland played 90 minutes as Austria Wien won through to the quarter-finals of the Samsung OFB Cup with a 4-0 win over Villacher SV.

In Croatia, Steven Lustica played 76 minutes as Hajduk Split progressed through to the final 8 of the HR Nogometni Cup following a 2-1 win over RNK Split.

In Russia, Luke Wilkshire was absent from the match-day squad as Dinamo Moscow moved into the final 8 of the Russian Cup following a 2-1 win over Khimki.

In the UAE, Alex Brosque started and was replaced in second half stoppage time as Al Ain threw away a two goal lead to draw 2-2 with Al Jazira. Elsewhere, Nick Carle played 54 minutes as Baniyas moved to the top of the table following a 2-0 win over Dibba Al Fujairah.