Major last-minute moves and debut goals

Transfers: Fernando Torres & Andy Carroll

Two transfer records were broken in the space of a few hours late on Monday evening. First, Carroll became the costliest British footballer of all time when Liverpool FC agreed a €40.25m fee with Newcastle United FC for the 22-year-old England forward, a scorer of 11 Premier League goals this season. That was funded by some of the money they were about to receive for Torres, who bid farewell to Anfield just before the window closed as Chelsea FC shelled out a British record £50m (€57.5m) for the Spain striker.

Debuts: Luis Suárez (Liverpool FC) & Giampaolo Pazzini(FC Internazionale Milano)

Following Torres' departure, all eyes at Anfield on Wednesday were on Suárez − a €26.5m recruit from AFC Ajax − to see if he could immediately assume the scoring mantle the former had left behind. The Uruguay front man did not disappoint. He immediately endeared himself to the Liverpool supporters witha goal 16 minutes after coming off the bench against Stoke City FC as the Reds recorded their third successive win.

Pazzini had set the tone for debutants a few days earlier when he struck twice in Inter's thrilling 3-2 triumph over US Città di Palermo at San Siro. The 26-year-old, who joined the Nerazzurri from UC Sampdoria for a reported €13m last week, said: "I couldn't have dreamt of a better debut."

Player: Kolbeinn Sigthórsson (AZ Alkmaar)

The Iceland Under-21 striker matched the club record for goals scored in a single match with five in AZ's 6-1 home victory against VVV-Venlo on Saturday. Formerly of HK Kópavogs in his homeland, Sigthórsson had completed his hat-trick by half-time and and struck his fifth with 21 minutes still remaining. Scoring in bulk is not something new to the 20-year-old, though. "I once scored ten goals in a match for the youth team," he said. "Of course these five goals are fantastic for me. It gives you a lot of confidence."

Goal: Claudio Marchisio (Juventus)

The 25-year-old must have thought he had set Juventus on their way to three points when he acrobatically volleyed the Bianconeri ahead against Udinese Calcio. Following an exchange of passes between Miloš Krasić and Alessandro Del Piero which ended with the latter having a shot blocked, the ball looped up invitingly for Marchisio, whose bicycle kick flew into the top corner. It was a strike worthy of winning any game, though unfortunately for the Italy midfielder he finished on the losing side as Udinese recovered to win 2-1.

Team: FC Barcelona

Josep Guardiola's charges entered the record books for what seems the umpteenth time after equalling the Liga best for successive victories. The 3-0 success at Hércules CF – the only team who had beaten the Azulgrana in the league this season – was Barcelona's 15th consecutive win, matching the record set by Real Madrid CF in 1960/61. Another three-point haul, when Club Atlético de Madrid visit the Camp Nou on Saturday, and the record is theirs outright.

Number: 80

The combined age of the two goalkeepers as Manchester United FC defeated Aston Villa FC 3-1 on Tuesday. At 39 years and 259 days, Brad Friedel became Villa's oldest ever player but opposite number Edwin van der Sar, his elder by 137 days, still has the edge in experience. Yet while Van der Sar will retire at the end of the season, Friedel's future is still up in the air.

Rethink: Unfortunate Liverpool fan

Finally, spare a thought for the Liverpool supporter who, in December, changed his name by deed poll from Shaun McCormack to Fernando Torres. "I did think about changing my name to Steven Gerrard, but I wanted something a little more flamboyant," the 36-year-old said at the time. So, one can only imagine his disbelief when his Kop idol swapped Merseyside for the King's Road after three and half seasons at Anfield. Presumably the dad of four has spent the last few days frantically thinking about which player to assume the name of next.