Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football

Rob from Stoke: Phil, following Kyle Walker's obvious cheating yesterday, do you think there is an increasing argument for this to be a red card offence? If denial of a goal scoring opportunity is a red, then surely the intentional deception of a ref to get a player sent off is in the same bracket?

Phil: Hello, Rob. I'm sad to say Walker should be highly embarrassed with what he did yesterday and the way he collapsed to the floor after the mildest head-to-head contact with Rasmus Hojlund. Having already tripped the striker, he was lucky not to be sent off.

If it was made a red card offence it would deter the sort of nonsense we saw from Walker yesterday.

Doctor John Mathers
Sports psychologist on BBC Radio 5 Live

One or two faces in the transfer window may allow City to turn the corner. There may come a time when players can no longer play at the level they did but they can adapt and make the most of what they've got.

Rasmus Hojlund's reaction on Instagram, external to Manchester United's dramatic win at Manchester City has gone viral.

The Denmark striker's post sums up his feelings in a poem and makes reference to his first-half coming together with City captain Kyle Walker:

"Manchester is red,

"Violets are blue,

"What a brilliant performance,

"But the Oscar goes to…"

Image source, Getty Images

Doctor John Mathers
Sports psychologist on BBC Radio 5 Live

Man City is a changing dynamic, they have injured players. Other players may be looking at Man City and thinking they may be able to get some points from them when this may not have been the case.

Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane said on Sky Sports that he was "embarrassed" for Kyle Walker following the Manchester City captain's reaction to his coming together with Rasmus Hojlund.

Keane, who intimated that Walker was play-acting in a bid to get Hojlund sent off, said: "Walker must be embarrassed to go down like that. An experienced player. Listen, there is no contact. I am embarrassed. I don't know the guy but I am embarrassed for him."

Image source, Getty Images

Doctor John Mathers
Sports psychologist on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think there's anxiety now at the results they've [Man City] had and that tends to bring a loss in focus for any athlete. That means you're liable to suffer from a loss of focus in any game. They call it a downward spiral and the secret is to try and regress that spiral by reminding yourself what you're good at and do it again.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Rasmus Hojlund and Kyle Walker clashed near the end of the first half, after Josko Gvardiol had given Manchester City the lead.

Walker fouled Hojlund and the Denmark striker retaliated, running up to the City captain, screaming at him, with their foreheads touching.

Walker then fell to the floor, as if he had been headbutted, although Hojlund did not seem to make an obvious movement towards him.

Both players were booked by referee Anthony Taylor.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter on BBC Radio 5 Live

No one is safe in modern football but if anyone is safe then it's Pep Guardiola. I'd be stunned if they don't [spend in January].

January is not the easiest time to go and find new players but I think they need some injection of new talent because they're drifting away in the Premier League and their fight is to finish in the top four.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter on BBC Radio 5 Live

I think there's an accumulation of issues that have all come together at the wrong time for Manchester City. They're in completely unchartered territory and Pep Guardiola is struggling to find the answers.

The players that have come in haven't played well and I think the goals of Erling Haaland have masked some issues.

BBC Radio 5 Live

We've got a real treat coming your way now on BBC Radio 5 Live as Nicky Campbell will host football journalist Guillem Balague as they talk about what's going on at Man City and a sports psychologist will also be on the show.

Click the 'watch live' tab at the top of this page to listen in!

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Wolves are in talks with Al-Shabab manager Vitor Pereira to replace head coach Gary O'Neil, who was sacked by the club on Sunday.

O'Neil was dismissed on Sunday morning following Saturday's 2-1 defeat at home to Ipswich which left them second bottom, four points from safety.

The Premier League strugglers are looking for a swift appointment and the money they would have to pay as compensation to secure former Porto and Olympiakos boss Pereira, around £800,000, is not believed to be an issue.

Wolves have been assessing their options and have sounded other possible replacements, including ex-West Ham and Manchester United boss David Moyes.

But club sources have told BBC Sport that Pereira is the frontrunner for the job.

Image source, Getty Images

Marcus Rashford has shown in the past how productive he can be when performing at his best.

In the 2022-23 season, the England forward scored 34 goals in 63 appearances for club and country, including three goals in five matches at the 2022 World Cup.

Rashford hit a rich vein of form on his return from Qatar, scoring in seven consecutive matches, and ended the Premier League campaign with 17 goals and five assists in 35 appearances.

Those stats dipped dramatically to seven goals in 33 league games last season.

Rashford scored the first league goal of Ruben Amorim's reign at Old Trafford, in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich, as well as two in a 4-0 win at home to Everton.

But the Portuguese boss hinted at concerns over his performance levels in training, general attitude and diet when asked about his decision to drop Rashford for the Manchester derby.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter at the Etihad Stadium

With a midweek EFL Cup trip to Tottenham, the usual Christmas rush of fixtures and a January that includes two Europa League games and a midweek Premier League game - and maybe a two-legged League Cup semi-final as well - Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho's Manchester United exile is unlikely to last too long.

However, United head coach Ruben Amorim has made his point - and come up with the biggest win of his short reign in charge.

He has clearly set a standard he wants to see matched by his players and feels Rashford and Garnacho are falling short.

By his words alone, the pair have a chance to redeem themselves. But, after years of players seemingly becoming untouchable as a succession of managers come and go, Amorim has quickly made his presence felt.

The answer lies with Rashford and Garnacho. If they don't respond positively, don't expect them to be hanging around too long.

Southampton

Here is what BBC pundit Danny Murphy had to say about Southampton sacking Russell Martin on Match of the Day 2.

"They have imploded a lot. Football is ruthless and when you are at the bottom and the hierarchy and supporters want to stay up, you are going to get moved on," Murphy said.

"Someone else is going to come in and have a hell of a job but I think it's too late.

"You have to be more flexible than he [Martin] was. Ultimately, in the Premier League if your recruitment isn't very good and you don't have a lot of Premier League experience, you are going to struggle and that is what happened."

Southampton

It's not looking good for Southampton...

The Saints have picked up just five points from their first 16 Premier League matches this season (W1 D2 L13), with Sheffield United in 2020-21 the only team to have picked up fewer points at this stage of the campaign in Premier League history (two points).