Manchester United advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win over Leicester City on Friday night.
A last-gasp header from Harry Maguire secured the Reds their place in Monday night's draw, meaning their hopes of retaining their crown are still very much alive. United had earlier fought back from a goal down via Joshua Zirkzee's first goal since Christmas.
However, there was a wide range of emotions for United's army of loanees over the weekend. The club has a plethora of players currently out on loan following the closure of the January transfer window last week and a couple of them made their debuts for their new clubs at the weekend.
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With that said, MEN Sport has taken a close look at how those who were in action over the weekend got on, both here in England and abroad.
After leaving United just over 24 hours before the window closed, Marcus Rashford made his debut for Aston Villa on Sunday evening, helping them progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. He was introduced from the bench with 66 minutes played and looked sprightly following his introduction, producing a 93 per cent passing accuracy and winning four of his six attempted duels.
Jadon Sancho was also in FA Cup action at the weekend, starting Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday evening. He produced an underwhelming showing, leading to fan criticism on social media, once again reminding United of the error they made to sign him for £72.9million in July 2021.
Dropping down into League One, youngster Dan Gore was reportedly set to make his first start for Rotherham United on Saturday when they hosted Shrewsbury Town. However, he declared himself unavailable on the morning of the game because of a sore foot, leaving Millers boss Steve Evans baffled by his unavailability.
"He worked for two days in the team and went home from training on Friday feeling good," said Evans, as quoted by the Rotherham Advertiser. "I got a call from the medical staff to say that he'd woken up with his foot really sore. I'll pick up more of it tonight [Saturday] and tomorrow [Sunday].
"It's unbelievable. We didn't do enough in training for him to have a sore nose let alone a sore foot. He sat there afterwards having lunch with the boys and had a rub and got prepared."
In League Two there was no much to smile about for either Joe Hugill or Ethan Williams. Hugill, who joined Carlisle United on loan last month after spending the first half of the campaign at Wigan Athletic, started as they were beaten 2-1 by Grimsby Town in their first game under new boss and former United striker Mark Hughes.
Hugill has scored one goal in his first five appearances for the rock-bottom Cumbrians. Meanwhile, Williams stepped off the bench in the second half as Cheltenham Town were beaten 2-0 by Fleetwood Town.
Speaking of Fleetwood, young United defender Rhys Bennett appeared as a second half substitute for the Cod Army, storing 15 minutes under his belt. He has made 20 appearances for the club since arriving on loan in the summer.
Elsewhere in League Two, Ethan Wheatley was left out of Walsall's matchday squad for their 2-1 defeat to Colchester United. The striker joined the Saddlers last month and has so far made two starts and one substitute appearance without scoring.
Defender Sonny Aljofree was also missing as Accrington Stanley drew 0-0 with AFC Wimbledon. Meanwhile, youngsters Louis Jackson and Sam Mather, who both joined Tranmere Rovers last week, were not involved as they were beaten 2-0 by Salford City.
In the National League, Jack Kingdon is still waiting to make his league debut for Rochdale after joining the club just over a fortnight ago. The centre-back was an unused substitute on Saturday as they drew 0-0 with Ebbsfleet United.
North of the border, James Nolan, who joined Inverness on loan back in the summer, started as they were beaten 3-0 by Arbroath in Scottish League One. The left-back has made 23 appearances for the Scottish club this season.
Overseas, Antony bagged his first goal for Real Betis on just his second appearance for the club. The winger, who joined the Spanish club on loan last month, opened the scoring in a 3-2 away defeat to Celta Vigo. He stored 72 minutes under his belt for the second game running.
Meanwhile, Tyrell Malacia made his debut for PSV Eindhoven, starting their 1-1 draw with Willem II, while goalkeeper Radek Vitek claimed his sixth clean sheet of the season, helping Austrian side Blau-Weiss Linz draw 0-0 with LASK. Vitek has made 13 appearances this season.
