Goalkeeper Nathan Baxter helped Hull City continue their dramatic turnaround in form with back-to-back victories in the Championship. He kept a comfortable clean sheet in the mid-week 1-0 win at Cardiff City before a vital save allowed them to beat Millwall 2-1. Hull have now won all four games since Baxter made his league debut, conceding just one goal, taking them five points clear of the relegation zone.

It was a mixed week for Baba Rahman and Danny Drinkwater with Reading. First they were both involved in a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United, when thoughts turned away from football as the match was halted after Blades midfielder John Fleck collapsed on the pitch and was taken to hospital.

Things went better on the weekend, though, as Drinkwater inspired the Royals to become only the second team to win away at Swansea City this season. Drinkwater first set up Andy Carroll to put Reading 2-1 up in the first half with a ball over the top to break the offside trap, before deciding the match himself by sweeping in the rebound when a shot came back off the post. That was the midfielder’s first goal in four years and gave his side a 3-2 victory.

Ian Maatsen came closest to breaking the deadlock for Coventry City against Birmingham City, twice being denied from close range by the goalkeeper, while Birmingham received a red card when Maatsen was brought down when through on goal. Juan Castillo played the last 30 minutes for Birmingham as they held on for a 0-0 draw.

Maatsen was back in the Coventry team as they again drew with 10 men, this time 2-2 at Bournemouth on Saturday, former Chelsea right-back Todd Kane scoring a 95th-minute equaliser for the Sky Blues.

Castillo was an unused substitute for Birmingham’s second game last week, a 1-0 win over a Blackpool side which included Dujon Sterling. Huddersfield Town had Levi Colwill in their starting line-up as they suffered a painful 1-0 defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Queens Park Rangers.

In the top flight, Billy Gilmour featured throughout for Norwich City again under new manager Dean Smith, as they held Wolverhampton Wanderers to a 0-0 draw that leaves them three points from escaping the relegation zone. It could even have been more following a strong performance from the Canaries if their strikers have been more clinical in front of goal, having created the better of the chances.

Conor Gallagher and Crystal Palace couldn’t continue their impressive recent performances as, after missing a good early chance to take the lead, they suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.

Also in the Premier League, Armando Broja started for Southampton, but was powerless to prevent them suffering a 4-0 defeat away at Liverpool.

In League One, Henry Lawrence came off the bench to help 10-man Wimbledon hold on to their 3-2 lead to beat Crewe Alexandra, and was introduced as a substitute again as they drew 2-2 with Fleetwood Town on Saturday. Jamie Cumming and Gillingham suffered successive home defeats, 2-0 to Cheltenham and 1-0 to Portsmouth, the latter being particularly painful as it came via an injury-time own goal.

There was heartbreak for Kenedy in South America, as he came on for extra-time as Flamengo faced fellow Brazilians Palmeiras in the Copa Libertadores final, but ended up on the losing side. Palmeiras triumphed 2-1 to retain their title as South American champions and set up a potential meeting with Chelsea in February’s FIFA Club World Cup.

Earlier in the week, Kenedy had featured throughout and set up Flamengo’s second goal in a 2-2 draw at Gremio, which leaves them second in the Brazilian Serie A table with four games of their season remaining.

Emerson Palmieri and Lyon overcame their away curse in Ligue 1 this season to claim a 1-0 victory at Montpellier, a result that takes them within six points of the top two, with a game in hand.

In Italy, AC Milan knew they needed to win at Atletico Madrid to keep their hopes of progressing in the Champions League alive. Tiemoue Bakayoko came on with 25 minutes left and the score goalless, twice drawing saves from Jan Oblak before Milan scored a dramatic 87th-minute winner.

Things didn’t go so well on Sunday, though, as Bakayoko was one of two players replaced at half-time as the 10-men Rossoneri lost 3-1 at home to Sassuolo. Also in Serie A, Ethan Ampadu was unable to prevent Venezia losing 2-0 at home to Inter Milan.

Karlo Ziger kept a clean sheet for Rudar Velenje in a 3-0 win over Beltinci, taking them above their opponents into sixth place in the table. Thierno Ballo came on as a substitute in Rapid Vienna’s 2-0 Europa League defeat to West Ham United, before playing the first hour of a 2-2 draw at Ried in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Michy Batshuayi made his return from injury for Besiktas in their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Ajax and was in the starting line-up in the league at the weekend, but the Turkish side were reduced to 10 men in the first half and ended up losing 4-0 at home to Giresunspor.