Manchester United announce Mourinho sacking and search for long-term replacement 

To borrow a much-loved phrase, that really did escalate quickly. 

It seems that the thought of Jose Mourinho leading Manchester United to a Champions League disaster against PSG in February has finally forced the club's bosses to pull the plug on the Portuguese provoker. An announcement was made on Tuesday morning that Mourinho was being sacked, and it genuinely came as a surprise. 

To be fair, aside from the cost of paying off the manager's deal after just two-and-a-half years in Old Trafford, there were not a lot of rational reasons to keep Mourinho around. The team's form was tanking, topped off with a hapless 3-1 loss to Liverpool on Sunday to leave United eleven points from the Premier League top-four with just 26 points in the bank. 

What's more, Mourinho seemed to be taking on each member of the squad in a personal battle both in the locker room and in the media - none more so than Paul Pogba, with the World Cup-winning midfielder left on the bench throughout the Liverpool defeat, another in a long line of snubs to the French player. 

While Jurgen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola are leading their clubs with enthusiasm and morale-boosting joy, Mourinho was an eternal cloud of doom. United's previously supportive bosses have had enough and called time on Mourinho's run with the Red Devils. 

Temporary boss at United until end of the season 

While that news is till being processed, the speculation begins on who will be taking over. 

However, the wait for a permanent boss could be a long one with United announcing that caretaker boss will see the club through to the end of the season while the search continues for Mourinho's replacement. The temporary replacement is not expected to come from within the club. 

Some familiar faces are already in the mix for the full-time role with the names of Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane sure to be in the frame and even former United and PSG manager, Laurent Blanc, as a candidate. 

However, the frontrunner is set to be Mauricio Pochettino who is set for an uncomfortable six months being linked with jobs at Real Madrid and Manchester United at the same time. 

Tune into our Sports Burst live show at 12PM ET / 9AM PT on the beIN SPORTS Facebook page for a look at what went wrong for United and who is the right fit for the Old Trafford slippers.  

PSG goes back to work as Dortmund continues Bundesliga battle 

There is a bit of a catch-up vibe on the Old Continent when it comes to midweek action. The Bundesliga is taking another stroll before heading into a winter break and Tuesday sees runaway and fairly surprise leaders Borussia Dortmund away at struggling Fortuna Dusseldorf. 

The Serie A weekend is extending all the way into Tuesday as well with Milan having the chance to latch onto fourth spot in the table with an away clash against Bologna and also move to within three points of Inter. 

Two quarterfinal games in England's League Cup are on offer including Manchester City away at Leicester City. And PSG are finally back in action on French soil - protests and riots withstanding - with a Coupe de la Ligue game at second-tier Orleans. That game is live on beIN SPORTS at 2:55PM ET / 11:55AM PT.

Oh, nearly forgot the FIFA Club World Cup. That continues this morning on our side of the world with Copa Libertadores champions, River Plate, taking on Al Ain FC of the United Arab Emirates in a semifinal game in their own stadium as it happens.

The XTRA will bring you the best of all the action at 7PM ET / 4PM PT. Your one-stop shop for the beautiful game. 

Isco disco dance continues with Man City back in the frame 

Speaking of the Club World Cup and one gloomy figure in the Real Madrid camp, who play on Wednesday, is still the center of attention in the transfer rumor world. 

Isco continues to be linked with a move to Manchester City next summer, however, the La Liga outfit will reportedly be wanting at least $100 million dollars if City want to add another attack-minded midfielder to the collection. 

Paul Pogba has again been linked with a January move to Juventus, however all that might change now with Jose Mourinho out of the picture at Old Trafford. 

Mauro Icardi's agent has been quite vocal about a lack of action between her client and Inter in terms of a new contract deal. Indeed, Wanda Nara has been complaining that not enough time has been spent by the likes of Sports Burst on making up rumors about the Argentinean striker - "it makes me laugh when I hear that Icardi is not on the market."

Finally, Arsenal seem to be leading the chase to sign the extraordinarily talented Lille forward, Nicolas Pepe - potentially in January if the offer is big enough for the Ligue 1 club.