Error code: %{errorCode}

Soccer

It's sacking season and Pep better watch out - Five Premier League talking points from Matchday sixteen

Ash Rose
It's sacking season and Pep better watch out - Five Premier League talking points from Matchday sixteenDAZN

It was perhaps the season's biggest weekend of talking points, as the Premier League went into overdrive on its storylines on Matchday 16. 

Two managers lost their jobs, there were dropped points by the leaders and chasers, as well as an eventful Manchester derby (well, the last five minutes at least). 

Here are the most talked about happenings from this weekend's action. 

Guardiola gone? 

Pep Guardiola April 2024BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images

When does a slump become a crisis? Perhaps when your all-conquering Manchester City side succumbs to their eighth defeat in eleven games thanks to a last-minute defeat to your biggest rivals.

It's probably safe now to rule Manchester City out of title contention, after all, they are nine points behind league leaders Liverpool having played a game more. But could this season end in further embarrassment if their current form continues?

The idea of City finishing outside the top 4 seemed absurd at the start of the season but is now a real possibility, and Pep Guardiola looks like a man who for once, doesn't have the answers.

The team seems to be petrified of making mistakes, while the manager is so at a loss he's talking about his job being on the line.

It is a downfall no one saw coming, but one no one now seems to know how to stop. 

Amorim's kickstart 

Forget the performance, as it was a dire Manchester derby for 85 minutes, because the result is what matters and it could prove huge for Ruben Amorim.

Not just because it's a win at their local rivals - whatever state they are in - but it's a victory against a backdrop of decisions that were justified in his team selection. 

The Portuguese showed no mercy by leaving Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho at home and got a win in their absence.

A victory for his authority, as well as for his team. Together, they need to now build on this and move forward for the good of the club. 

Martin marches on 

Russel Martin has felt like a dead man walking for several weeks now, and the writing was on the wall inside 25 minutes at St Mary's on Sunday as Tottenham ran riot on the Saints.

Martin's refusal to not budge on a playing style that was clearly sinking Southampton left the board with no option but to find an alternative manager who would. 

One must applaud Martin for sticking to his principles, but in the cutthroat world of the Premier League, there has to be quick solutions or a willingness to find one, or it's on to the next man.

That next man may have to already start planning for the Championship as Southampton look unsavable. 

Wolverhampton Wanderer 

'Tis the season, it seems, as Gary O'Neil will also have plenty of time for Christmas dinner this year after getting his marching orders following Wolves' home defeat to fellow strugglers Ipswich.

It wasn't just the accumulation of another loss for O'Neil and his side, but also the manner in which the post-match anger spilt over both on the pitch as his players fought with Ipswich coaching staff and the gaffer's comments after the game. 

No manager can lambast his team in such a way without facing the consequences, and for O'Neil, it was the final nail in the coffin of his job at Molineux. 

And the Oscar goes too... 

No one likes to see simulation in football, and Kyle Walker should be a little embarrassed with himself this morning.

The obvious 'dive' from someone of his experience and standing in a game that by its very nature is fiery was nothing short of pathetic. 

Good on Rasmus Hojlund for his short-lived social media dig at the England man because it's something he shouldn't get away with.
 

More Football