Third Prem sacking

GM football fans. It’s Monday, Dec. 16, and we’re covering the third Premier League manager sacking, Match of the Day changes, and much more. First time reading? Sign up here.

RESULTS

Premier League MW16: Manchester City 1 - 2 Manchester United. Since November 1, Man City have picked up just 0.57 points-per-game, the worst record of any Premier League side. Liverpool 2 - 2 Fulham. After winning 11 of their first 13 Premier League games under Arne Slot, Liverpool have since drawn both of their last two in the league. Arsenal 0 - 0 Everton. The Toffees have now played out 109 goalless draws in the Premier League, the most in the competition’s history. See the full results and table.

Plus…

• La Liga: Vallecano 3 - 3 Real Madrid | Barcelona 0 - 1 Leganes | Atletico 1 - 0 Getafe (Table)

• Scottish League Cup Final: Celtic 3 - 3 Rangers (pens 5-4) (More)

• Women’s Super League: Leicester 1 - 1 Chelsea | Liverpool 0 - 1 Arsenal | Everton 2 - 1 Man City | Crystal Palace 0 - 1 Man Utd (Table)

• Bundesliga: Mainz 2 - 1 Bayern Munich | Bayer Leverkusen 2 - 0 Augsburg (Table)

• Serie A: Cagliari 0 - 1 Atalanta | Udinese 1 - 3 Napoli (Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Third EPL Manager Sacked

Gary O’Neil has been sacked as Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach. The decision comes after the club’s 11th defeat of the Premier League season against Ipswich Town – leaving them 19th in the table. Wolves are reportedly working to appoint Vitor Pereira from Saudi Pro League side Al Shabab (More on Pereira here).

O’Neil, 41, signed a four-year contract with Wolves in August. He had an impressive first season, leading the club to 14th place while recording victories over Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea. He also guided the club to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Alongside Erik ten Hag and Steve Cooper, O’Neil is the third manager to be sacked in the Premier League this season — already matching last season’s total. But it's still far from the 14 managerial sackings during the 2022-23 season. Learn more about that season here.

La Liga’s Tight Title Race

Barcelona gave up their cushion at the top of La Liga after losing 1-0 to 15th-placed Leganes. Hansi Flick’s side have now dropped points in five of their last six matches in the league. See the La Liga league table here.

Atletico Madrid are now level on points with Barcelona after their 1-0 win over Getafe; just goal difference separates the two sides. They also have a game in hand over the league leaders. Diego Simeone’s men are on a six-game winning streak in the league, extending to 11 games in all competitions.

Real Madrid missed their chance to move top of the table after dropping points away at Real Vallecano. Jude Bellingham scored for his sixth successive La Liga game, while Madrid were without the injured Kylian Mbappe.

Match of the Day Revamp

Kelly Cates, daughter of Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish, is set to leave Sky Sports to become part of a three-person team of Match of the Day presenters. It’s expected she will join fellow broadcasters Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan. It’s unclear how the format will work.

Cates has been hosting Premier League matches on Sky Sports since 2017. After being a reliable stalwart for many years, it’s reported that Sky bosses are saddened by Cates’ decision to leave and join the BBC. The BBC’s new director of sport Alex Kay-Jelski is looking to move the show in a fresh direction. Kay-Jelski was ultimately responsible for Gary Lineker’s departure.

Match of the Day is one the BBC’s longest-running shows, having been on air since August 1964. It’s recognised as the longest-running football TV programme in the world.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Chelsea Women’s 100% WSL win record ends after a 1-1 draw with Leicester (More) | Man City announces Premier League record revenue of £715m (More) | Liverpool staff Christmas party was halted early over drug-taking concerns (More)

> Celtic win 5-4 on penalties over Rangers to be crowned Scottish League Cup champions (More)

> Bayern Munich suffered their first league defeat under Vincent Kompany after a 2-1 loss to sixth-placed Mainz 05 (Highlights) | Lille extends its unbeaten run to 16 matches after a 1-1 draw with Marseille in Ligue 1 (More)

> Oxford United have sacked head coach Des Buckingham (More)

Americas

> Mexican side Pachuca won the FIFA Challenger Cup match on penalties in Qatar after beating Egyptian side Al Ahly 6-5; they will face Real Madrid in the Intercontinental Cup final on Wednesday (More)

> Vancouver Whitecaps FC owners have announced their intention to sell the club (More)

Rest of the World

> Ukraine asked FIFA to apologise after a map excluded Crimea as part of the country during the 2027 World Cup draw (More)

> Barca Legends beat Real Madrid Legends 2-1in a match in Tokyo featuring a tribute to Andres Iniesta’s playing career (More / Highlights)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

On Friday, we asked you: Do you think clubs should have partially separate squads for different competitions?

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 👍 Yes... (28%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🙅 Nope... (71%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!)... (1%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🙅 C.F: “Rotation is one thing, fully-fledged B teams for ‘lesser’ competitions is a step too far.”

• 🙅 D.W: “Only the super-rich, oil-backed clubs could afford this and they would be the only beneficiaries. There needs to be a level playing field.”

• 👍 H.N: “By allowing separate teams from different competitions within a club, you would be expanding the number of professional soccer players over the globe by a significant amount.”

EXTRA TIME

When Mark Hughes played for Wales and Bayern Munich on the same day.

The conspiracy of Man Utd’s recent leaked line-ups… (thread via X)

… and the seven most infamous dressing room leaks.

Former Premier League player elected as Georgia’s new president.

Saudi Pro League transfer market values.

Xavi proves he’s still got it in the Legends game.

The biggest cultural moments in football right now.

Where did it go wrong for Gary O’Neil?

Inter Miami CF unveil 2025 The Fortitude Kit.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which club allows its captain to always choose the length of the entire team’s sleeves for the game?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Premier League

• Bournemouth vs West Ham (20:00)

Serie A

• Lazio vs Inter Milan (19:45)

Primeira Liga

• Braga vs Famalicao (18:45)

• Porto vs Estrela (20:15)

• Rio Ave vs Vitoria SC (20:45)

EFL League Two

• Fleetwood vs Accrington Stanley (20:00)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Arsenal.

The rule was introduced by manager Herbert Chapman. Captains like Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry opted for long sleeves in the 2000s, while Tony Adams preferred short sleeves. Today, Arsenal captains often choose short sleeves, with teammates wearing long-sleeved undershirts if they wish.