Among the eight West Ham United loanees in action over the weekend, Nayef Aguerd, Freddie Potts and George Earthy stood out as they starred in key victories for Real Sociedad, Portsmouth and Bristol City, respectively.
In La Liga, Nayef Aguerd was instrumental in Real Sociedad’s historic 1-0 win over league leaders Barcelona, with Sheraldo Becker's goal proving the difference between the sides. Following an early Robert Lewandwoski strike that was controversially chalked off for offside after a lengthy VAR check, Aguerd anchored Sociedad’s defence, making key tackles and stifling Barcelona’s attack, particularly thwarting the efforts of Pedri and Lewandowski. Aguerd and his teammates’ exploits at the Reale Arena brought Hansi Flick’s side’s seven-game winning streak to an abrupt end in the absence of their young star, Lamine Yamal.
Back at home, James Ward-Prowse made his sixth Premier League appearance for Nottingham Forest, this time coming off the bench in the 88th minute to replace Álex Moreno as Forest fell to only their second top-flight defeat of the season, a 3-1 loss at home to Newcastle.
Maxwel Cornet on the other hand did not feature for Southampton as they dropped to the bottom of the standings following their 2-0 defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In EFL Championship action, Freddie Potts played 78 minutes as Portsmouth moved off the foot of the table with their first home win of the season. Potts delivered another solid performance in midfield, setting up a number of chances from set pieces. Goals from Josh Murphy, Connor Ogilvie and a late penalty from Colby Bishop were enough to see off Preston North End 3-1 and move the newly-promoted side to within three points of safety.
Staying in the Championship, an injury ridden Bristol City condemned Norwich City to their first home defeat in over a year. George Earthy played just over an hour as a right wing-back, filling in well for defensive injuries. By the time the youth England international was replaced, his side had already built a two-goal lead through Anis Mehmeti and Nahki Wells. A lead which they held onto comfortably, keeping them within touching distance of the play-off places.
In League One, Callum Marshall played the first half as Huddersfield came from behind twice to earn a point at Crawley. The Northern Ireland striker was replaced by Rhys Healey at the break who scored the Terriers’ first equaliser. The Yorkshire side would fall behind again just after the hour mark before Herbie Kane made sure of a share of the spoils, with it finishing 2-2. Michael Forbes made his first league appearance in over a month, coming on as a substitute as Bristol Rovers played out a 1-1 draw against Lincoln City. Gideon Kodua on the other hand, was not in the Wycombe Wanderers squad as the Chairboys won their seventh game in a row - 1-0 at Wigan - to move top of the League One standings.
Patrick Kelly made his sixth League Two start for Doncaster Rovers as they held fellow promotion hopefuls Notts County to a 1-1 draw. Unbeaten on the road this season, County took the lead through their Gambian marksman Alassana Jatta, who as a result moved into double figures for the season. An end-to-end encounter, Rovers drew level through a Joe Ironside header. Kelly impressed in midfield, creating several opportunities, including a chance from just inside the box that was blocked late on. In the end however, both sides would settle for a share of the points. Fellow Academy loanee Levi Laing did not feature in the Cheltenham Town squad that drew 1-1 at home to Bromley.
In the National League South, Mason Terry’s Hornchurch suffered a 1-0 defeat to Maidstone. Despite a handful of saves from the young goalkeeper to keep his side in the game, the Hornchurch attack were unable to respond to Tami Eweka’s early goal. Unfortunately for the newly-promoted side, goals have been extremely hard to come by and after Saturday’s defeat, they rank joint-third lowest for goals scored in the division.
Krisztián Hegyi was an unused substitute for Motherwell as they recorded a 1-0 victory over St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership.
In France’s second division, Mohamadou Kanté was on the bench as Paris FC drew their third game in a row, a goalless draw away to Pau which keeps them at the top of Ligue 2.
