A few EPL stars copped heavy losses, while promotion hopes for the top sides in the Championship suffered a blow with Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace and Millwall all failing to win.

In the English Premier League, Chris Herd played a full game as Aston Villa were hammered 8-0 by Chelsea. Villa’s back 3, which has been in solid form in recent times, were torn apart time and time again by Chelsea’s pace and skill, with Herd in the firing line. Herd conceded a penalty in the second half, albeit for a soft foul, to cap off a day to forget. Brett Holman played 79 minutes in the clash but was very quiet as Villa struggled to maintain possession for the majority of the game.

Adam Federici played a full game in goal as Reading conceded a heart-breaking injury time goal to lose 1-0 to champions Manchester City. Despite City dominating possession, Federici was largely untroubled before Gareth Barry’s diving header in the 93rd minute.

Mark Schwarzer played a full game as Fulham’s horrific away from continued after copping a 4-0 thumping from Liverpool. Despite the ugly score-line, Schwarzer had a decent game making several fine saves throughout the contest, denying Stewart Downing in the first half before pulling off a great save from Luis Suarez’s free kick in the second half. Brad Jones was an unused substitute for Liverpool.

In the English Championship, Scott McDonald played 80 minutes but was relatively quiet as Middlesbrough suffered a 2-1 loss at Leeds United. Rhys Williams was absent from the match-day squad but is closing in on a return from injury. Patrick Kisnorbo was again absent from the match-day squad for Leeds and may look for a loan move in January to secure some first-team football.

Mile Jedinak returned from suspension as Crystal Palace dropped to third following a 1-1 draw at home to Huddersfield Town. Jedinak went close to opening the scoring early in the contest but his curling free-kick hit the side netting.

Shane Lowry played the full 90 minutes as Millwall suffered a shock 2-1 home loss to struggling Barnsley, while Neil Kilkenny was an unused substitute as Bristol City drew 1-1 at Ipswich Town.

In League One, Dean Bouzanis returned from suspension, playing the full 90 minutes in Oldham Athletic’s 4-1 loss to Yeovil Town. Bouzanis made an error in the dying minutes, charging out of his box only to have an air-kick which left Paddy Madden with an open net to score Yeovil’s fourth and final goal. James Wesolowski started and played 64 minutes in the clash, while Alex Cisak was an unused substitute. Liam Jacob was absent from the match-day squad.

Bailey Wright played the full 90 minutes in defence as Preston North End drew 1-1 with Coventry City. Shane Cansdell-Sherriff missed the clash through suspension.

In League Two, Jamie Young played 90 minutes in goal for Aldershot in their 2-0 loss to Northampton Town.

Bradden Inman, James Meredith and Aaron Downes saw their respective sides clashes postponed due to an unplayable pitch with heavy rain prominent throughout England.

In the Scottish Premier League, Dylan McGowan started and played 73 minutes as Hearts beat Dundee United 2-1. McGowan, who is becoming a mainstay in the Hearts midfield, won a first half penalty which was duly converted by Ryan Stevenson. Brother Ryan McGowan played the full 90 minutes at right-back, the result seeing Hearts jump to sixth.

Elsewhere, Alex Baird was an unused substitute as Dundee FC remained bottom following a 4-1 loss to Inverness.

In the Scottish Second Division, Marc Warren played the full 90 minutes as Airdrie United lost 4-1 at home to Falkirk.

In the Scottish Third Division, Francesco Stella was absent from the match-day squad as Rangers tightened their grip on top spot, beating second placed Elgin City 6-2.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Adam Sarota, Tommy Oar and Michael Zullo all played 90 minutes as FC Utrecht earned a respectable 0-0 draw with Ajax. Despite the free-kick prowess of Oar, Sarota assumed the dead ball duties, going close in the first half as his effort drew a decent save from Ajax ‘keeper Kenneth Vermeer. Zullo & Oar were more prominent in the second half as Zullo showed impressive signs in an unfamiliar central midfield role.

Elsewhere, Jason Davidson was an 85th minute substitute as Heracles drew 1-1 with PEC Zwolle, while Travis Cooper was absent from the VVV Venlo side that lost 4-2 to Roda Kerkrade.

In the Dutch Second Division, Corey Gameiro was a 72nd minute substitute as FC Eindhoven lost 3-2 to MVV Maastricht. Andrew Marveggio was absent from the match-day squad as SC Telstar lost 1-0 to Helmond Sport.

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

In the Serie B, Carl Valeri was again not selected in the match-day squad as Sassuolo remained top with a 2-0 win over Virtus Lanciano.

On Thursday, Nick Carle scored from the penalty spot as Baniyas won through to the Presidents Cup quarter finals following a 2-0 win over Dubai. Carle earned the first-half penalty and calmly slotted the ball home, sending ‘keeper Jamal Abdallah Ali the wrong way. Richard Porta also played in the clash but was unable to prevent Dubai from crashing out of the competition.

In the Qatar Stars League, Matt Spiranovic started but was withdrawn at half-time as Al Arabi secured a shock 4-2 win over league leaders Al Saad. Elsewhere, Mark Bresciano played 90 minutes as Al Gharafa beat Al Wakrah 3-1, while Sasa Ognenovski played a full game in defence as Umm Salal lost 1-0 at home to El Jaish.