Today in Football – Things You May Have Missed

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.

22nd February: Cristiano Ronaldo Loses His Head

Legendary forward fumes after Jhon Duran red card

Cristiano Ronaldo has been slammed by football fans on social media for his reaction after Al-Nassr teammate Jhon Duran was shown a 92nd-minute red card on Friday. The legendary Portuguese forward was filmed smashing the ball away while it was positioned on the centre circle. He then angrily remonstrated with the match officials.

One fan wrote on X (Twitter): “40 years of age!”, while another commented: “How is that not a red for him?”. Another commented: “Absolute man child,” while a fourth questioned: “How’s he got away with that?”. Ronaldo was unable to prevent Al-Nassr slumping to a 3-2 defeat to Al-Ettifaq.

20th February: Reporter Asks Man City “What Happened?” and Responses Go Viral

One supporter: ‘We’re f****** w***, that’s what happened mate’

In the 62nd minute, with the score poised at 2-0 in favour of Real Madrid, Manchester City fans left in their droves – and their responses to “What happened inside?” have gone viral. There were a few who point-blank ignored the reporter – though some gave poignant answers.

Angered at the perceived audacity of the reporter, one said: “You actually know the score, don’t you? Why would you rub that in my face?”

Another fan was a bit cooler, calmer and more collected, thus giving a measured answer. He said: “We’re not having a good season, right? That’s it. Real Madrid have got a class front three and our defence is shaky. So that’s what you expect.”

A third supporter was much more expletive in his response, blaming Pep Guardiola for his choices. They even went one step further to suggest that the Catalan native is no longer fit to lead the four-in-a-row champions to glory.

“We didn’t turn up, wrong formation. He’s prioritised Liverpool over this!” one said as they highlighted the fact that Guardiola rested the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland in preparation for their Premier League encounter with Liverpool on the weekend.

19th February: Darwin Nunez Misses Open-Goal Chance in Premier League

His effort elicited cheers from the Aston Villa fans

With Liverpool’s Premier League encounter with Aston Villa poised at 2-2, Darwin Nunez enjoyed a gilt-edged opportunity to put his side ahead in the 68th minute but managed to miss the goal completely, eliciting a collective groan from the travelling Reds supporters as they wondered how he missed the target.

The Uruguayan has blown hot and cold since arriving from Benfica in the summer of 2022 – and the Anfield faithful are becoming increasingly frustrating as his lack of potency in front of goal and his latest gaffe will not help in winning back the adoration of the supporters.

Dominik Szboszlai bared down on goal and an eager Nunez was making a far-post run, trying to escape the pressure of Axel Disasi in the process, but he scuppered his chance on the edge of the six-yard box. The goal was gaping but the striker’s left-footed effort skied the bar, much to the relief of the home contingent.

19th February: Thierry Henry Pulls Up Michael Olise in Interview

Funny clip goes viral on social media

Thierry Henry couldn’t resist pulling up Michael Olise after the Bayern Munich star called him ‘Titi’ – rather than ‘coach’ – during a live interview on CBS Sports on Tuesday night. Olise, who was managed by Henry while representing France at the 2024 Olympics, was speaking after Bayern advanced to the Champions League Round of 16 following a 1-1 draw against Celtic.

Asked by Micah Richards how he found the jump going from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich, Olise said: “It was a big – definitely took some time to adapt. I spoke with Titi a lot, when I was transitioning, he helped me by giving me some pointers.” Henry had Olise frantically backtracking when he responded: “So it’s ‘Titi’ now, not coach?”. (Watch the funny clip in full at 45 seconds on the above video).

18th February: Atalanta Captain Rafael Toloi Picks Up Embarrassing Red Card

The defender made a fool of himself as last season’s Europa League winners crashed out of Europe

Rafael Toloi completely lost his composure in the dying moments of Atalanta’s Champions League play-off defeat to Club Brugge, culminating in a red card for the captain. With emotions running high in the 87th minute of the match, the defender’s frustration boiled over during a tense exchange.

As Maxim de Cuyper attempted to disrupt the flow of the game by blocking a throw-in, Toloi snapped. In a fit of rage, he first tried to hurl the ball at De Cuyper but lost his footing, slipping awkwardly. Determined to confront him, Toloi charged after De Cuyper, requiring officials to step in to prevent the situation from escalating further.

In the end, he received a straight red card for his outburst, while De Cuyper was shown yellow for his clever gamesmanship that sparked Toloi’s fury. With this dramatic turn of events, Atalanta bowed out of the Champions League, succumbing to a 5-2 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge after a 2-1 loss in the first leg.

17th February: Wigan Youngster Drops Brutal Celebration After First Goal At Everton’s New Stadium

Everton’s Under 18s were involved in a friendly against Wigan at Bramley-Moore Docks stadium

Everton have been mercilessly trolled after the first goal was scored at the Bramley-Moore Docks stadium. The Toffees are set to move into their new home for the 2025-2026 season, saying an emotional farewell to the iconic Goodison Park. In the meantime, their future ground is being used for other events related to the club, with the under-18s scheduled to feature on multiple occasions there.

Thousands of Evertonians flooded to the stadium to catch the first game on the soil as the youth team came up against Wigan Athletic in a friendly on Monday night, but things didn’t get off to the ideal start for the hosts. Athletic found themselves one-nil up inside the opening quarter of an hour as young midfielder Harrison Rimmer found the back of the net with a neat finish.

To add insult to injury, the youngster then proceeded to mock the onlooking Everton fans by showing the number six on his hands, a reference to the number of European Cups Everton’s arch-rivals Liverpool have won in their history.

16th February: Hulk Scores Insane Free-Kick

The 38-year-old Brazilian clearly hasn’t lost it

Brazilian forward Hulk – appropriately named because of his extraordinary shooting power – has scored an early contender for the best free-kick we’ll see in 2025. The former FC Porto star, who celebrates his 39th birthday in July, has proved throughout his career that he’s a threat from set-pieces pretty much anywhere inside the opponent’s half.

Hulk scored both of Atletico Mineiro’s goals in a 2-0 win over Tombense on Saturday, but it was his second goal that’s gone viral on social media – and deservedly so. Roughly 35-40 yards from goal, Hulk steps up and unleashes an unstoppable, curling effort with his hammer of a left foot, leaving goalkeeper Matheus Aurelio absolutely no chance. You never lose it.

15th February: Van Nistelrooy and Keown Recall ‘Battle of Old Trafford’

‘It was a good rivalry, wasn’t it?’

Leicester City manager Ruud van Nistelrooy and Martin Keown, his primary foe from the ‘Battle of Old Trafford’, came together to clear the air before the former striker’s clash with Arsenal in the Premier League. As he came over, Oxford-born Keown offered a handshake before apologising for ‘all the shenanigans’.

“What happens on the pitch stays on the pitch,” Van Nistelrooy replied before joking with Joe Cole that he’s happy about being able to see Keown, “I’m happy that I have him in front of me, not at the back of me. It was a good rivalry, wasn’t it?”

The two, most notably, came to blows in September 2003. Keown celebrated – in the form of screaming in Van Nistelrooy’s face – after the Dutchman missed from 12 yards. The same happened at the full-time whistle of one of the most fierce encounters in Premier League history as the English defender jumped behind the striker and slammed his arms down.

14th February: Everton Fire Back at Liverpool Captain Virgil van Dijk

The centre-back had branded the Merseyside derby their ‘cup final’

The final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park had all the makings of a classic Premier League clash. Everton and Liverpool played out an enthralling and dramatic 2-2 draw, with the home side stealing a point in the dying seconds.

After the match, four red cards were brandished by Michael Oliver and Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk aimed a dig at the Toffees, telling TNT Sports: “We all know this is their cup final.” Everton have now taken to social media to hit back at the defender. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), the Toffees looked ahead to their final six games at their home ground by posting: “Six more ‘finals’ left at Goodison,” accompanied by a winking emoji. They knew what they were doing, that’s for sure.

13th February: Carragher and Henry’s Reactions to Everton’s Equaliser v Liverpool

Carragher wasn’t best pleased

There were absolute scenes at Goodison Park on Wednesday evening as James Tarkowski scored with virtually the last-kick of the game to win a point for Everton against fierce rivals Liverpool. Jamie Carragher was watching the game while working as a pundit for CBS Sports and he was not happy at all to see his beloved Liverpool pegged back in the most dramatic fashion. The same cannot be said for Thierry Henry, who would no doubt have been pleased to see the goal go in with former side Arsenal going head-to-head with Liverpool in the title race.

To make matters worse for Carragher, he was then mugged off by one of CBS’ production assistants, who is an avid Evertonian.

The Frenchman couldn’t control his emotions as Los Blancos found victory

If there were any lingering doubts about Kylian Mbappe adjusting to life at Real Madrid, his ecstatic reaction to Jude Bellingham’s stoppage-time winner against Manchester City should put them to rest. Carlo Ancelotti’s side twice came from behind to secure a hard-fought 3-2 victory at the Etihad Stadium, putting them in the driver’s seat to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.

As Bellingham found the net late on, Mbappe – who had been substituted earlier in the night after scoring Los Blancos’ first – was seen sprinting down the dugout and onto the pitch to celebrate with his teammates. The 26-year-old simply couldn’t contain his emotions!

10th February: Dion Dublin’s Brilliant Repsonse to Fan Interrupting BBC Broadcast

‘I’ll take him outside in a minute’

Former striker-turned-pundit Dion Dublin told a supporter that he’d ‘take him outside’ after BBC Sport’s half-time analysis of Aston Villa’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur was interrupted by said fan banging on the glass in anger.

While Jermain Defoe, Joe Hart and Dublin were trying to dissect Tottenham’s poor performance, the supporter in question was thumping the studio window while he, infuriated at his side’s performance, also called the ex-Premier League centre-forward a “w*****!”

When asked by Mark Chapman to take the fans through Jacob Ramsey’s early opener, Dion replied: “I’ll take him outside in a minute.”, eliciting a laugh from the rest of the panel. Marking Marcus Rashford’s debut, Aston Villa ran out 2–1 victors after Morgan Rogers and Mathys Tel struck in the second 45.

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