Armando Broja was desperately unlucky that his fifth goal of the season for Southampton didn’t give the Saints all three points against Brighton & Hove Albion. Having come off the bench in their 2-2 draw with Leicester City on Wednesday, Broja was in the starting line-up as they hosted Brighton and made an instant impact.

The striker had already been denied twice by the goalkeeper when he opened the scoring with a fine effort just before the half-hour mark, leaving his marker sprawled on the floor with a brilliant turn before providing a composed finish. However, Southampton were denied victory by an equaliser in the eighth minute of stoppage time, drawing 1-1.

It was a disappointing week for Conor Gallagher and Crystal Palace in the Premier League, as back-to-back 1-0 defeats made it three losses in a row for the Eagles. They were unfortunate in the first of those, away at Leeds United, as they had made the better of the chances before a 94th-minute penalty, awarded for a handball by ex-Blues defender Marc Guehi, settled the match for the home team.

They then defended admirably at Old Trafford on Sunday and a draw looked on the cards before Fred’s shot from distance gave Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick a winning start.

There was also penalty pain for Billy Gilmour, as Norwich City went behind to 10-man Newcastle United when VAR intervened to give a spot kick after the ball struck Gilmour’s arm from close range, in a decision Canaries boss Dean Smith labelled ‘pathetic’.

That penalty was Newcastle’s only shot on target, but Norwich had to settle for a 1-1 draw. However, Gilmour and Norwich couldn’t build on that point at the weekend, as they lost 3-0 at Tottenham Hotspur.

Over in Italy, Tiemoue Bakayoko helped AC Milan get back to winning ways in Serie A, following back-to-back defeats. First he came off the bench in a 3-0 thrashing of Genoa, who are managed by former Chelsea striker and Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko.

Bakayoko was then in the starting line-up as the injury-hit Rossoneri hosted Salernitana at San Siro. A comfortable 2-0 win took them above Napoli to the top of the league table and it could have been even better, as they hit the post following a perfect pass across goal by the on-loan Blues midfielder.

There was a tough day at the office for Ethan Ampadu with Venezia last Tuesday, as they suffered a 4-0 defeat away at Atalanta, former Chelsea midfielder Mario Pasalic scoring a hat-trick for the home team. The yellow card Ampadu received in that match meant he was then suspended for the weekend’s 4-3 loss to Hellas Verona.

Kenedy played the last 20 minutes as Flamengo drew 1-1 at Recife, a result which combined with a 2-1 win over Ceara earlier in the week to mean they are now mathematically certain of finishing second in the Brazilian Serie A table with two games remaining.

Matt Miazga featured throughout as Alaves got their Copa del Rey campaign off to a winning start in Spain. However, they were made to work hard to overcome lower league Unami, taking well into the second half to break the deadlock against determined opponents, before two late goals made the final score 3-0.

Back in England, three Chelsea players were on either side as Reading hosted Hull City in a high-pressure match for the Championship relegation battle. Baba Rahman and Danny Drinkwater were both in the Reading side which took the lead through a spectacular bicycle-kick which left goalkeeper Nathan Baxter no chance.

Baxter did make his mark on the game after Hull found an equaliser, producing a crucial save to keep the score at 1-1, a result which leaves the sides five and six points clear of the drop zone respectively.

Coventry City paid tribute to their FA Cup-winning manager and former Chelsea player John Sillett before their home game against West Bromwich Albion, but couldn’t mark the occasion with a win. Ian Maatsen featured for the first 45 minutes as they were beaten 2-1, having now won just one of their last five home games.

Levi Colwill and Huddersfield Town earned a 1-1 draw away at Barnsley in a torrential downpour which made life difficult for both teams, but the visitors could consider themselves unlucky after testing former Chelsea goalkeeper Brad Collins several times in the second half with the scores tied.

A tough day for Dujon Sterling saw him suffer a sixth consecutive defeat with Blackpool, losing 3-0 at home to a Luton Town side which had previously gone three games without scoring a goal.

Henry Lawrence came off the bench late on to help Wimbledon book their place in the FA Cup third round. They had gone behind to Cheltenham Town in the second minute, before racing into a 4-1 lead, only to concede twice and set up a nervous final 10 minutes. Lawrence played the last four of those, helping the home team hold on for an entertaining 4-3 victory.

Emerson Palmieri and Lyon’s struggle to maintain their form in Ligue 1 continued, as they dominated against Reims on Wednesday only to concede an injury-time winner when goalkeeper Anthony Lopes fumbled, losing 2-1 on a day when a draw would have been a harsh result.

It was a similar story against Bordeaux on Sunday, when they twice took the lead but had to settle for a 2-2 draw as a mix-up at the back resulted in a second-half equaliser, after a suspected broken leg for centre-back Jason Denayer forced a defensive reshuffle.

On Friday evening, Michy Batshuayi and Besiktas couldn’t hold on to their lead in Turkey, as a late equaliser meant they had to settle for a 1-1 draw away at Kasimpasa.