It isn’t often a defender takes the plaudits in a 3-0 win but that was the case for Jason Denayer this weekend.
In his sixth appearance on loan at Sunderland, the Belgian was employed as a holding midfielder in the Black Cats’ triumph over Hull – and though there was natural acclaim for the goalscorers – Denayer grabbed some praise too.
Also in England, Wilfried Bony could not prevent Stoke from falling to a 1-0 home defeat against Bournemouth. The Ivorian was brought off for Peter Crouch on 68 minutes.
In the Championship, Aaron Mooy featured as Huddersfield were on the wrong side of a five-goal thriller at Cardiff, while Jack Byrne was an unused substitute for Blackburn in their 3-2 win over Brentford.
Meanwhile, in League One, George Glendon played the full 90 in Fleetwood’s 2-1 triumph over Chesterfield. Kean Bryan is enduring a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury and so missed Bury’s 5-1 battering at Wimbledon.
North of the border, Patrick Roberts helped Celtic to a 1-0 victory at Kilmarnock. The youngster almost found the net from long-range but was denied by Jamie MacDonald, before he was substituted on 66 minutes in place of Tom Rogic.
NORTHERN LIGHT: Patrick Roberts helped Celtic to victory at Kilmarnock
Enes Unal, who has scored eight goals in 11 games, played the full match for FC Twente, who drew 1-1 with Utrecht, almost finding the net with a bicycle kick which was well-saved by Robbin Ruiter. Bersant Celina and Yaw Yeboah also lasted 90 minutes for the hosts.
Also in Holland, Oleksandr Zinchenko made his first Eredivisie start for PSV in their 0-0 draw at Willem II. He was replaced on 79 minutes.
Brandon Barker and Ashley Smith-Brown saw out NAC Breda’s goalless draw against VVV, but David Faupala remained on the bench.
Sinan Bytyqi – currently sidelined with an ankle injury – missed Go Ahead Eagles’ 2-1 defeat to Heracles, and Shay Facey was not brought on in Heerenveen’s 1-1 draw with Vitesse.
In Spain, Eliaquim Mangala completed 90 minutes of Valencia’s 1-1 draw with Granada, while Samir Nasri was rested for Sevilla’s last-gasp 3-2 win at Deportivo La Coruna, ahead of their crucial Champions League visit of Juventus. Marlos Moreno came off the bench on 88 minutes for Deportivo.
Manu Garcia meanwhile was an unused substitute for Alaves in their 1-0 defeat to Espanyol, and Bruno Zuculini was brought off at half-time in Rayo Vallecano’s 2-2 draw with Huesca.
Moving on to Italy and Joe Hart kept a clean sheet as Torino won 2-0 at Crotone.
Olivier Ntcham did not feature for Genoa, who fell to a 3-1 loss at Lazio.
In Denmark, Zack Faour was not included in Midtjylland’s first-team squad for their 1-0 defeat to SønderjyskE.
