In the English Premier League, Brad Jones made a rare league start for Liverpool following an injury to Pepe Reina and made the most of his opportunity, keeping a clean sheet as Liverpool beat Reading 1-0. Despite Liverpool dominating for large periods of the game, Jones was called upon to make two decent stops early in the second half. Adam Federici was again missing for Reading.

Mark Schwarzer also kept a clean sheet in Fulham’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa. Schwarzer was barely tested by a Villa side who are struggling to create any sort of momentum this season. Brett Holman put in a full shift for Villa but had little impact on the game. Chris Herd was absent from the Villa match-day squad.

In the English Championship, Mile Jedinak found the back of the net for Crystal Palace in their 2-2 draw with Millwall. Jedinak, who played a full match, opened the scoring on 35 minutes with a long range fizzing strike that found the bottom right corner. Shane Lowry was an unused substitute in the clash.

Scott McDonald started and played 85 minutes in Middlesbrough’s 1-0 win at Brighton Hove & Albion. McDonald, starting his first game for the season, had a quiet game with his only chance of the game coming in the first half where he was inches away from latching onto Marvin Emnes’s cross deep in the penalty box. Rhys Williams missed the clash through injury.

Elsewhere, Massimo Luongo was absent from the Ipswich side that lost to Hull City 2-1, while Neil Kilkenny was missing through injury as Bristol City threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Bolton.

Patrick Kisnorbo was absent from the match-day squad as Leeds drew 1-1 with Sheffield Wednesday in a match marred by an ugly incident involving Wednesday ‘keeper Chris Kirkland and a fan. Former Sunderland striker Matt Fletcher was not in the Wednesday match-day squad.

In League One, Dean Bouzanis kept a clean sheet as Oldham beat Leyton Orient 2-0. James Wesolowski put in a full shift for Oldham and nearly found the back during the second half as his rasping drive brought out the best in Orient ‘keeper Ryan Allsop. Alex Cisak was an unused substitute in the clash.

Elsewhere, Bailey Wright started and played 58 minutes in Preston North End’s 1-0 loss to Sheffield United. Preston were undone by a hopeful long ball which split Wright and fellow central defender Chris Robertson. Shane Cansdell-Sherriff was absent from the match-day squad.

In League Two, James Meredith scored his first ever league goal in Bradford City’s 3-1 win over Cheltenham Town. Meredith, who put in a full shift at left back, scored City’s final goal on 83 minutes, with a powerful effort into the top corner from eight yards.

Aaron Downes was also on the scoresheet in Torquay’s 3-2 loss to Bristol Rovers. Despite being down to 10 men, Torquay recovered from 2-0 down to equalise through Downes just before the hour mark, as he powered home a header from a free-kick, only to see Bristol seal the win in the 76th minute.

Elsewhere, Jamie Young put in a full shift in goal as Aldershot were thumped 3-0 by Rotherham. Despite the scoreline, Young made a handful of quality saves to keep the score line respectable.

In the Scottish Premier League, Ryan McGowan played the full 90 minutes as Hearts beat Motherwell 1-0. Dylan McGowan came on in second half stoppage time, his first appearance in front of his home fans.

Alex Baird was an unused substitute as Dundee FC remained rooted to the bottom of the table following 4-1 loss to Inverness.

In the Scottish Second Division, Marc Warren was absent from the match-day squad as Airdrie United were thumped 7-0 by Partick Thistle.

In the Scottish Third Division, Francesco Stella was missing as Rangers beat Queen’s Park 2-0.

In Ireland, Mark Griffin returned from suspension as relegation threatened Dundalk lost 3-0 to Cork City.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Tommy Oar and Adam Sarota played the full 90 minutes and both provided assists as FC Utrecht beat ADO Den Haag 2-1. On 20 minutes, Oar provided the pass for Alexander Gerndt who found the back of the net to equalise, then Sarota got in on the act with a surging run and lofted pass which was finished off nicely by Zambian striker Jacob Mulenga.

Elsewhere, Jason Davidson was missing from the matchday squad through injury as Heracles scored twice late to secure a 3-3 draw with Ajax, while Travis Cooper was absent from the VVV Venlo side that lost 3-2 to Feyenoord.

In the Dutch Second Division, Corey Gameiro was absent from the FC Eindhoven side who lost 3-1 to Andrew Marveggio’s FC Telstar. Marveggio was also absent from the Telstar match-day squad.

In the German Bundesliga, Robbie Kruse put in a full shift as Fortuna Dusseldorf were thumped 5-0 by Bayern Munich. Kruse was relatively quiet, through no fault of his own as Munich completely outplayed Dusseldorf from start to finish.

Mitch Langerak was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund lost more ground on the high flying Bayern Munich following a 2-1 loss to FC Schalke 04. Elsewhere, Nikita Rukavytsya was an unused substitute as FSV Mainz drew 2-2 with Bayer Leverkusen.

In the German Second Division, Mathew Leckie started and played 80 minutes in FSV Frankfurt’s 1-0 loss to FC Union Berlin. Leckie was dangerous in attack and won numerous fouls in attacking positions but his side was unable to convert any of the opportunities.

In the German Third Division, Mustafa Amini put in a full shift for Borussia Dortmund II as the cellar dwellers enjoyed a rare win, beating SV Darmstadt 98 2-1.

In the Italian Serie A, James Troisi started for Atalanta but was hauled off on 51 minutes in their 2-1 win over Siena. Troisi was quiet for Atalanta but did create a chance for his side with an angled header across goal but no Atalanta player attacked the ball and the chance disappeared.

In Serie B, Carl Valeri was an unused substitute as Sassuolo beat AS Cittadella 1-0.

In Russia, Luke Wilkshire played the full 90 minutes as Dinamo Moscow continued their resurgence with a 2-1 win over Mordovia Saransk.

In Serbia, Matthew Byrne played the full 90 minutes as Donji Srem went down 2-0 to FK Radnicki. Elsewhere, Eli Babalj was a 68th minute substitute as Red Star Belgrade thumped BSK Borca 7-2.

In Croatia, Tomi Juric was absent from the match-day squad as Inter Zapresic lost 2-0 to Dinamo Zagreb, while Steven Lustica was missing as Hadjuk Split lost 1-0 at home to Istra 1961.

In Austria, James Holland put in a full shift in midfield as Austria Wien moved into second spot with a 2-0 win over local rivals Rapid Wien.

In Denmark, Brent McGrath was an unused substitute as Brondby lost 1-0 to FC Kobenhavn.

In the Belgian Second Division, Kofi Danning was absent from the match-day squad as CS Vise drew 0-0 with KV Oostende.

Over to Asia and Josh Kennedy was again missing through injury as Nagoya Grampus beat Sagan Tosu 3-1.

Jade North was missing from the match-day squad as Consadole Sapporo’s relegation was finally confirmed following a 0-0 draw with Kashima Antlers.

In the South Korean FA Cup final, Luke Devere put in a full shift in defence as Gyeongnam suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 extra time loss to Pohang Steelers.

In the K-League, Adrian Madaschi put in a full shift in defence as Jeju United lost 2-1 to FC Seoul.

Roberth Cornthwaite played the full 90 minutes as Chunnam Dragons played out a 0-0 draw with Incheon United. Matt Simon was absent from the Chunnam squad while Nathan Burns was also missing from the Incheon squad.

Elsewhere, Brendan Hamill was an unused substitute as Seongnam beat Gwangju 3-2.

In the Chinese Super League, Joel Griffiths put in a full shift and found the back of the net as Shanghai Shenhua’s dismal season continued, losing 3-1 at home to Changchun Yatai. Griffiths struck on 44 minutes, calmly finishing from inside the box following a pass from Cao Yunding.

Dino Djulbic put in a full shift and scored the games opener on 37 minutes as Guizhou Renhe drew 1-1 with Hangzhou Greentown.

Daniel Mullen put in a full shift in defence as Dalian Aerbin’s hot form continued, beating Rostyn Griffiths’ Guangzhou R&F 2-1. Griffiths was absent from the match-day squad.

Elsewhere, Milan Susak was an unused substitute as Tianjin Teda drew 1-1 with Henan Jianye.

In the Chinese Second Division, Brendon Santalab found the back of the net as Chongqing Lifan beat Hunan Xiangtao 3-0.

In the UAE Pro-League, Alex Brosque continued his dream start to his Al Ain career, scoring a brace as the reigning champions thumped Dibba Al Fujairah 5-1. Brosque’s partnership with Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan continues to blossom, as the pair linked continuously including a delightful series of passes which led to Brosque’s second goal in the second half.

Richard Porta’s hot form in front of goal continued, scoring in Dubai’s 2-1 win over Al Wahda. Porta opened the scoring inside 2 minutes, tapping home from inside the six yard box after clever work down the left from Simon Pierre Feinduono.

Nick Carle was also on the scoresheet, lashing home from the edge of the box on his non preferred right foot in Baniyas’s 4-2 win over Al Shaab.

Elsewhere, Lucas Neill put in a full shift for Al Wasl in their 2-0 win over Ajman.

In the Qatar Stars League, Mark Bresciano played a full match and scored a goal in Al Gharafa’s 2-0 win over El Jaish. Bresciano scored the game clincher on 57 minutes, hitting the back of the net from inside the box following a cross from Fahid Satam Al-Shammari.

Elsewhere, Sasa Ognenovski made his long awaited return from a hamstring injury, playing the full 90 minutes in Umm Salal’s 1-1 draw with Al Kharitiyath, while Matt Spiranovic put in a full shift as Al Arabi were beaten 2-0 by Qatar SC.

Finally in the MLS, Tim Cahill was named Man of the Match in New York Red Bulls 0-0 draw with Sporting KC.