Winners and losers of the weekend's football: Premier League title there for the taking for relentless Arsenal, hat-trick hero Gonzalo Garcia proves ideal understudy for Kylian Mbappe and things go from bad to worse for struggling Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy

After Enzo Maresca essentially talked his way out of a job by going public with a perceived lack of support at Chelsea, Ruben Amorim decided to follow suit. After suggesting on Christmas Eve that Manchester United were not going to give him sufficient time and money to play his preferred 3-4-3 formation, the Portuguese revealed on Sunday that he was unhappy with his level of control over first-team matters at Old Trafford.

"I just want to say I came here to be the manager, not to be the coach," Amorim said after the 1-1 draw with Leeds at Elland Road. "In every department - the scouting department, the sporting director – [they] need to do their job. I will do mine for 18 months and then we move on.

"I just want to say that I'm going to be the manager of this team, not just the coach. I was really clear on that. That is going to finish in 18 months and then everyone is going to move on. That was the deal. That is my job. Not to be a coach. I know that my name is not [Thomas] Tuchel, it's not [Antonio] Conte, it's not [Jose] Mourinho, but I'm the manager of Manchester United. And it's going to be like this for 18 months or when the board decides to change. I'm not going to quit. I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me."

The search for his successor is now under way, with United having decided to sack Amorim just over a year after hiring him. It must be said that, in normal circumstances, a change of manager would have happened long before now, given Amorim's rotten results and the fans' mounting frustration with his tactics and substitutions. However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe had been steadfast in his support of the former Sporting boss because he had invested so much time, money and effort in recruiting him. 

Clearly, the INEOS boss felt that Amorim's position was no longer tenable after Sunday's outburst, but the fans aren't going to be fooled into thinking that the manager was responsible for all of the issues at Old Trafford. Ratcliffe & Co. have made one disastrous decision after another since taking charge of football operations at United, so there's zero reason to believe that they're going to get this next big call correct.

The second half of last week's 4-1 victory over Aston Villa aside, Arsenal haven't played particularly well since losing to the same team almost exactly a month ago. However, the Gunners have still managed to increase their lead at the top of the Premier League to a commanding six points.

Set-pieces, own goals and Manchester City surprisingly drawing with both Sunderland and Chelsea have all played their part in Arsenal taking complete control of the English title race. However, the most noteworthy aspect of the north Londoners' winning run has been the resilience they've shown. The Gunners have been accused of 'bottling' the league in recent seasons - but that just doesn't look like happening this time around.

As Arteta pointed after the Declan Rice-inspired 3-2 win at the Vitality Stadium, his current crop of players have great "personality and presence", and while he obviously didn't want to say it, the major trophy that Arenal have long been chasing is now theirs for the taking.

Pablo Felipe must be wondering what he's got himself in for at West Ham. After arriving at the London Stadium on Friday, the former Gil Vicente striker took his seat on the bench at Molineux the following afternoon. What he witnessed would have horrified him, as West Ham were routed 3-0 by a Wolves side that had failed to win a single game during the first half of the season.

Thanks to Nottingham Forest's continued struggles, the 18th-placed Hammers are still only four points from safety and host Sean Dyche's side on Tuesday in a crucial relegation six-pointer.

However, it's clearly going to take a whole lot more than Felipe for Nuno Espirito Santo to save West Ham's season - and his own job. The utterly embarrassing capitulation at Wolves has extended West Ham's winless run in the Premier League to nine games, eroded further confidence in the coach and only intensified the fans' dissatisfaction with the club's owners. Fail to beat Forest and things could get quite nasty at the London Stadium.

Real Madrid's decision to send Endrick out on loan this month while retaining the services of Gonzalo Garcia as Kylian Mbappe's understudy may have surprised some, but Xabi Alonso remains a massive fan of a player that impressed at last summer's Club World Cup - and on Sunday, the academy product showed why.

With Mbappe ruled out for the visit of Real Betis with a knee injury, there was a real risk of Los Blancos losing further ground on La Liga leaders Barcelona. However, Garcia did an outstanding job filling the considerable void left by Madrid's top scorer by hitting a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at the Bernabeu.

"Gonzalo had the game of his dreams," Alonso enthused in his post-match press conference. "I'm delighted for him because he works so hard and has an impressive attitude, both when he's playing and when he doesn't. These days football makes you work as a team - especially as a striker. You have to press high, you have to drop deep to stop their pivot, and Gonzalo does that very well. He's very good at pressing.

"He also scores goals, which is important, but if you add the defensive contribution, you help the team’s balance to be a lot better. So, he's just a great example of the strength of the club's youth sector, so I congratulate him and encourage him to carry on like this."

The still-under pressure Alonso may well need Garcia to pick up where he left off against Betis when Madrid face city rivals Atletico on Thursday, as there's no guarantee that Mbappe will be fit for the Supercopa semi-final either.

Andrea Pirlo, Sami Khedira, Paul Pogba - Juventus are masters of the free transfer market, and they looked to have pulled off another masterstroke when they signed Jonathan David for 'nothing' during the summer.

However, making the Canada international the second-highest-paid player on the Bianconeri's books is already looking an extremely costly mistake, as David has scored just one Serie A goal for Juve so far this season. He should have two, of course, but the former Lille forward missed a penalty in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Lecce - and in the worst possible circumstances, with the 25-year-old making an absolute mess of an attempted 'Panenka' penalty.

Weston McKennie dismissed the suggestion that David owed his team-mates an apology, while coach Luciano Spalletti once again rushed to the defence of the misfiring forward.

"David is in good shape, he is a top professional who is able to get into the move no matter what area of the pitch he is in," the former Italy coach told reporters. "It’s disappointing he isn’t at the moment confident enough to show all his quality, but he can be a top finisher in the box. He has what it takes to be an incredible marksman."

Unfortunately for David, he might not get that many more opportunities to prove his worth in Turin, as the Bianconeri are reportedly keen to sign at least one striker during the winter window.

Only three teams have stopped Paris Saint-Germain winning Ligue 1 since the capital club became state-sponsored in 2011: Montpellier, Monaco and Lille. But could Lens become the fourth? Before the 2025-26 campaign began, it would have been considered lunacy - and common sense suggests that PSG will end up coasting to a fifth consecutive title. After all, Luis Enrique's stellar squad only trail surprise Ligue 1 leader Lens by a point - and there are still 17 rounds remaining. However, Lens have got a legitimate shot at claiming just their second-ever French top-flight title - and first since 1998.

For starters, eight of the last 'winter champions' have gone on to win the league. Secondly, Lens are the form team in France right now, having extended their winning streak to seven games with a 3-0 victory at Toulouse on Friday, and carry a serious goal threat thanks in no small part to two former Premier League players in Odsonne Edouard and Florian Thauvin.

Perhaps more importantly than anything else, though, fitness has been a major problem for PSG this season, which is hardly surprising given their involvement in last summer's Club World Cup, and whereas their primarily goal will be retaining their Champions League trophy, Lens can focus on Ligue 1 as they've no European commitments.

The odds are obviously still stacked against Pierre Sage's side, but as former club president recently pointed out in an interview with L'Equipe, "This team is a steamroller: they defend while moving forward and press opponents into mistakes. So, why not dream of being champions?!"

It's fair to say that Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi is not going into Thursday's Trophée des Champions clash with Paris Saint-Germain in a positive frame of mind. The Italian fully expected his third-placed team to keep their Ligue 1 title hopes alive by beating Nantes at home on Sunday, but OM slumped to a shock 2-0 loss at the Stade Velodrome after losing both Arthur Vermeeren and Bilal Nadir to red cards.

"What can I do?" a visibly exasperated De Zerbi asked in his post-match press conference. "If we can’t see the symptoms beforehand, how can we predict the future? But I'd like to understand why, here in Marseille, we systematically experience these rollercoaster rides, these ups and downs. This is my 12th season as a manager, but today you have to be more of a psychologist than a coach!

"For example, Vermeeren had a bad week, so I called him into my office on Saturday. I told him that I had confidence in him and that I was going to start him even though he hadn’t trained well. He thanked me. So, I didn’t expect this performance!"

Martin O'Neill couldn't have done a better job as Celtic's interim manager. As well as securing a place in the Scottish League Cup final with a 3-1 win over hated rivals Rangers, the Northern Irishman also wiped out The Bhoys' eight-point deficit to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts with five consecutive victories. However, all of O'Neill's good work has been completely undone by his successor, Wilfried Nancy.

Since being appointed the Glasgow club's new permanent manager on December 4, Nancy has lost six of his eight games in charge, including a humiliating League Cup final loss to St Mirren, and a devastating derby defeat to Rangers. As a result, the atmosphere has turned toxic at Celtic Park, because it's not just Nancy in the firing line after one of the worst starts to a managerial reign in football history.

After Saturday's 3-1 Old Firm loss, there were loud and sustained calls to "Sack the board!" both inside and outside the ground, and midfielder Luke McCowan admitted that the players can fully understand the fans' fury.

"When has it ever been this bad?" the midfielder asked. "It's never. You're asking fans to react to something for the first time they're seeing it, and us as players for the first time we're feeling it."

Something's got to give, then, and usually it's the manager that pays the price for such poor form. The problem is, though, sacking Nancy after just over a month would only cast the board in an even more unfavourable light, leaving interim chairman Brian Wilson in a very difficult position. Not even O’Neill looks capable of alleviating the tension at Celtic Park at this point.