GM football fans. Route One here, your daily dose of football, minus the boring long prose.

Today’s briefing is a ~4 min read:

1. VAR 7 - 0 Wolves… Inside O’Neil and VAR’s private conversation 😬

2. Around the world in 60: Ronaldo’s out-of-character sportsmanship 🤔

3. Manchester United’s (potential) star-boy 🤩

Morning Brief 🗞️

VAR 7 - 0 WOLVES 😬

Monday night’s clash, Fulham vs Wolves, put VAR and the referring officials through their paces.

Let’s recap:

• Three penalty decisions.

• Two possible red cards.

• Five goals.

…and that’s only counting what happened on the pitch.

Wolves manager, Gary O’Neil was not happy with Monday’s VAR or on-pitch referee, Michael Salisbury.

So, after the game, he decided to go to Mr Salisbury’s office to debate the controversial decisions made.

The conversation didn’t go well…

In fact, Gary O’Neil has said it has made him lose faith in VAR and Premier League referring… and we can see why.

Here’s everything you need to know in less than a minute:

1/ Mr Salisbury admitted regretting not overturning Fulham’s first penalty.

Monday night’s ref thinks he should have been sent to the VAR screen to overturn the decision.

2/ The referee admitted Fulham’s Tim Ream should have been sent off after giving Wolves a penalty.

The referee debated this point with Gary O’Neil after the match. But subsequently admitted by the “letter of the law” Ream should have been sent down the tunnel.

Tim Ream being sent off would have given Wolves a one-man advantage for at least 30 minutes of the match.

3/ Carlos Vinícius gave Wolves’ Max Kilman a headbutt. But it was only a soft one.

Mr Salisbury told Gary O’Neil it was a “soft” headbutt.

This implies players can now headbutt each other as long as it is sufficiently soft… huh?

Thankfully, the referee came to his senses soon after speaking with Gary. He later admitted to the Wolves coaching staff he got that one wrong too.

Tough day in the office ey!

4/ Wolves have lost seven points to VAR decision.

Wolves have dropped the most points in the Premier League to VAR decisions.

Gary O’Neil, the unluckiest manager in the Prem put it well: “Mind-boggling.”

AROUND THE WORLD IN 60 SECS 🌍

🇸🇦 Cristiano Ronaldo tells the referee to overturn the decision to award him a penalty in an AFC Champions League game… despite Al-Nassr drawing 0-0. What’s happened to the Ronaldo we know and love…

🇪🇸 Sergio Ramos asks for his yellow card to be reviewed by the referee and VAR. His yellow card was reviewed and it was cancelled… only to be replaced by a red card. 😆

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Ange Postecoglou is the first Premier League manager to win three Manager of the Month awards in a row before losing three games in a row.

🇩🇪 The Bundesliga is averaging the most goals per game in Europe’s top five leagues and has the highest average attendance at over 40,000. Sprichst du Deutsch?

🇧🇷 Carol Ancelotti refuses to rule out a move to the Brazil national team next summer when his Real Madrid contract runs out in June 2024. He adds, “My future will soon be known.” Talk about a tease, Carlo.

UNITED’S (POTENTIAL) STAR-BOY 🤩

Listen to this… Manchester United have included a homegrown player in every matchday squad since October 1937.

That’s over 86 years.

Kobbie Mainoo is the latest player to join the first team… and his performance against Everton on Sunday caught everyone’s attention.

But what makes him such an exciting prospect?

Let’s break down his performance against Everton…

Firstly, he was everywhere. Just look at the heat map that Sky Sports produced after the game.

Apart from the left side, he brings an energy akin to prime N’Golo Kante days. And we all know how important he was.

He’s a good passer… and most importantly not just a lateral passer. United have had their fair share of ‘safe’ passers.

So, it’s refreshing to see the youngster pass forward.

But what about his dribbling? Well, he ticks that box too…

According to Opta Analyst, Mainoo completed 12 carries. This equalled 144 metres over the course of his 72 minutes.

Considering he’s a deep-line midfielder, these are impressive stats.

Look, it’s far too early to make any bold claims about what Mainoo will achieve. But he’s looking top dollar and United fans should be excited.

EXTRA-TIME ⏱️

What do you do when you score a goal and can’t decide which celebration to do? Do them all, obviously… just as Pedro Neto did. 🤣 

Garnacho’s bicycle kick for Manchester United has everyone attempting their own version. Even if they are in the middle of the street… with a balloon.

Jamie Carragher ranks Torres and Mascherano above Zico and Romário. In his defence, he looks increasingly uncomfortable as his blind rank game goes on…

Is this the best training ground goal ever? Borussia Dortmund’s Raphaël Guerreiro produces a bit of magic which we are happy was caught on camera.

We know Eden Hazard is good with a football at his feet. But how can he be this good with a rugby ball?

MEME 😆

If Steve Bruce and KFC had a child…