Football never sleeps. During any of the 86400 seconds in a 24-hour day, somewhere in the world someone is doing something related to the beautiful game, whether that’s scoring a last-minute winner in a high-profile match, posting their expert take on social media or simply booting a ball against a wall with their mates.
It’s therefore impossible for any human being to keep up with everything that’s going on in the game, and it’s often those little yet most intriguing moments, like a fan’s alternative viewpoint of a penalty save, or a three-second yet incredibly telling interaction between two arch-rivals, or thread on X explaining why N’Golo Kante is the nicest man in professional sport, which make football so great.
GIVEMESPORT have created our live blog to help solve that problem, providing the best social media has to offer and the greatest football mini-stories from the last 24 hours.
January 15: Bono’s Unique Penalty Save in Morocco’s AFCON Win vs Nigeria
Bono was the hero as Morocco booked their place in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final on Wednesday evening. Morocco and Nigeria could not be separated in 120 minutes as the game went all the way to penalties.
Bono, who has earned a reputation of being a specialist when it comes to saving penalties, saved two spot-kicks as his side triumphed 4-2 in the shootout. His save to deny Bruno Onyemaechi has gone viral on social media.
The 34-year-old unusually moved way to his left before Onyemaechi had even struck the ball. Fortunately for Bono, he guessed correctly and he was easily able to keep out Onyemaechi’s effort. Youssef En-Nesyri then scored the following penalty to take his side to the final.
Football fans on Reddit have been in awe over Bono’s ‘never-seen-before’ save. One said: “I’ve never seen that. Actually pretty clever when you think about it,” while another commented: “I was so confused watching that.” A third wrote: “This is insane, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before.”
Morocco will now play Senegal in the final, which will take place on Sunday January 18.
January 13: Xabi Alonso’s Awkward Moment With Florentino Perez After Real Madrid Final Loss
Real Madrid have sacked Xabi Alonso and while the news may have come as a surprise to many, the writing was perhaps on the wall. Four points off Barcelona in La Liga and then losing to their biggest rivals in the Super Cup final certainly didn’t help the Spaniard’s case.
Footage has now emerged of Florentino Perez interacting with Alonso far the final defeat, and it suggests the club president may had already lost patience with the head coach. Perez offers a tame half-smile, which quickly drops as he fails to hold eye-contact with Alonso, looking off into the distance.
This awkward moment makes Alonso’s statement after his sacking all the more interesting, as he failed to directly acknowledge Perez, noting: “I thank the club, the players and above all the fans and Madrid fans for their trust and support. I leave with respect, gratitude, and pride that I did my best.”
January 12: Arda Guler Mocked For Actions After Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid were beaten by fierce rivals Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final on Sunday evening. Raphinha’s strike in the 73rd minute, his second of the match, proved to be decisive as the Catalan giants ran out 3-2 winners.
Arda Guler is being mocked for his actions straight after the final whistle. The Turkish midfielder couldn’t contain his anger after his side’s defeat and decided to belt a water bottle, only to slip over after making contact. Footage of the moment has gone viral with Barca fans mocking the youngster.
“This is too good,” one Barca fan commented. Another said: “I can’t stop watching” while a third commented: “Lol he just created the best meme in football history.”
Indonesian footballer Muhammad Hilmi Gimnastiar has been banned for life after hospitalising an opponent following one of the worst challenges we’ve ever seen. Hilmi struck opponent Firman Nugraha Adhiansyan in the chest with a brutal challenge in the 72nd minute of the match between Putra Jaya and Perseta 1970 Tulungagung,
Firman had to be stretchered off the pitch after suffering breathing difficulties and was immediately taken to the hospital. Fortunately, doctors confirmed the injury was not life-threatening, but he did require oxygen and close monitoring.
Hilmi was shown a red card and Putra Jaya FC immediately terminated his contract and apologised to Perseta. Hilmi has now been banned for life by The East Java Football Association (PSSI Jatim) and fined him 2.5 million rupiah. The chairman of the Disciplinary Committee, Samiadji Makin Rahmat, stated:
“This behavior not only goes against the spirit of sportsmanship but also threatens the safety and lives of other players. It forces us to apply the highest possible penalty.”
January 10: Aston Villa Mock ‘Arsenal Fan’ Thomas Frank With Chants
Thomas Frank was the victim of two brutal chants from Aston Villa fans in their FA Cup third round meeting with Tottenham Hotspur. The Danish coach is under pressure and was ridiculed after he was caught out drinking from a cup with an Arsenal badge on it.
The Villans’ supporters chanted “Thomas Frank is an Arsenal fan” after his cup blunder ahead of Spurs’ loss to Bournemouth earlier in the week. But they also piled more misery on the Dane with a “You’re getting sacked in the morning” chant.
Some Spurs fans even joined in with the latter chant as Frank’s future is in serious doubt just six months after replacing Ange Postecoglou. His side sits 14th in the Premier League, having won 7 and lost 8 of 21 games.
January 7: Virgil van Dijk’s Post After Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool Goes Viral
Liverpool showed why they are the reigning Premier League champions as they produced a strong display at the home of current leaders, Arsenal. The Reds went into the match 14 points behind their opponents and expected to taste defeat at the Emirates Stadium. However, they held their own as the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
After the game, Van Dijk took to social media to remind everyone who the reigning Premier League champions are, as he posted a picture of the Premier League champions patch that Liverpool players are wearing on their arm this season. Van Dijk’s post has gone viral, with Liverpool fans loving it and Arsenal supporters not as impressed.
January 6: Reporter Details ‘Scummy’ Incident With Diego Costa
Diego Costa built a career for being aggressive on the pitch and eccentric away from it. But the former Chelsea striker’s actions crossed a line in 2020, with a reporter recently detailing an incident following Atletico Madrid’s victory against Liverpool in the Champions League.
Helene Hendriks was conducting interviews after the match when the Spaniard deliberately coughed in everyone’s face. The story made headlines, as it occurred while the COVID-19 was beginning to spike ahead of the global pandemic, and Hendriks revealed that she was diagnosed with the disease two days after the incident.
Recounting her story, she said: “First I had Virgil van Dijk, then Diego Costa. Do you know what Diego Costa did? He walked up and deliberately coughed in everyone’s face. I don’t get angry easily, but I wanted to run after him and say: what are you doing to me?
“He actually coughed right in my face. But for the connection to the Netherlands, I was attached to a wire and I was following Diego Costa, so the whole camera fell over. I didn’t know what was happening to me; I thought it was absolutely outrageous.”
The new information about Costa’s behaviour has provoked an angry reaction from football fans online. One wrote: “That’s a scummy move spitting.” And another echoed that sentiment, stating: “Yeah…thats not nice.”
One more followed up with: “That’s actually so nasty. Even if it wasn’t Covid, what type of animal coughs in peoples faces like that?” And a final individual wrote: “Oh but he’s such a nice bloke off the field. Showing again that’s always nonsense.”
January 5: Mark Goldbridge’s Reaction to Man Utd Sacking Ruben Amorim
Manchester United sacked Ruben Amorim as their head coach on Monday morning. Popular Man Utd fan Mark Goldbridge was live when the news broke and his reaction has gone viral.
He said: “He’s just been sacked. What? Og my hod. Oh my god. They’ve done a 10 o’clock sacking. Manchester United sack Ruben Amorim as head coach. Oh my god. Oh my god. Darren Fletcher. Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my f****** god! Oh my god!
“I can’t believe they have given it [the interim job] to Darren Fletcher. I said it! I bloody said it! I told you they’d do that! I feel sick! I actually feel sick. For f*** sake, this football club. Darren f****** Fletcher. I can’t speak.”
January 4: Liverpool vs Fulham Premier League Match Delayed by 15 Minutes
Arne Slot’s Liverpool have travelled down to the capital city in pursuit of three points but their encounter with Marco Silva’s Fulham has been delayed by a quarter of an hour. Craven Cottage is playing host to one of Sunday afternoon’s 3pm kick-offs, but a medical emergency in the crowd means that it’ll kick off 15 minutes later than expected.
As a way of informing fans ahead of the teams getting underway, Fulham took to X (formerly Twitter) to say: “Due to a medical emergency at the ground, kick-off has been delayed by 15 minutes.” The title-defending Reds are looking to get back to winning ways after drawing 0-0 with Leeds United on New Year’s Day while the south London outfit will also be in pursuit of three points after their recent 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
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