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.

January 28: Arsenal Fans Accuse ‘Thief’ Martinelli of ‘Doing a Nani’

Arsenal fans were humoured by Gabriel Martinelli’s goal in their Champions League clash with Kairat Almighty, which brought back memories of Luis Nani back in 2010. The Brazilian attacker arrived at the back post after a low-driven cross and poked Viktor Gyokeres’ attempt into the net.

Gyokeres own effort was already heading in when Martinelli decided to snatch away a second goal for the Swede on the night. This didn’t go unnoticed by viewers, who compared it to Nani’s earlier infuriation of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Unlike Martinelli, Nani cost Portugal and Ronaldo a goal when he diverted the ball into the net from an offside position despite his teammate’s shot heading in.

One fan joked in response to the Arsenal man’s goal: “Martinelli… he just did a Nani.”

Another added: “ITS ON! Martinelli cosplay Nani wkwkkwkwk.”

Others felt that the Brazilian stole the glory from his Swedish teammate: “Martinelli completely stole that from Gyokeres lol.”

Another wrote: “Martinelli stealing gyokeres goallll.”

One responded: “Martinelli is a thief.”

January 26: Kobbie Mainoo Records Eye-Opening Statistic vs Arsenal

Kobbie Mainoo was impressive yet again as Man Utd defeated Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The youngster, who found game-time very hard to come by under Ruben Amorim, was named in United’s starting lineup for the third successive match under intermin boss Michael Carrick. He produced an assist as Man Utd won 3-2.

It’s unknown why Amorim barely played Mainoo, but Richard Keys thoerised it’s because he thought the Englishman lacked mobility. An eye-opening statistic the youngster recorded vs Arsenal has now emerged and it’s made a mockery of those claims.

The 20-year-old ran a total of 11.2km against Arsenal, the most of any player on the pitch. That’s the second time in two weeks he has covered more ground than any player, having also done the same against Manchester City, where he covered 12km.

The statistic has gone viral, with many Man Utd fans baffled Amorim never played him. “We nearly lost our star boy because of Amorim,” one said, while another commented: “He is cooking. Proving Amorim wrong.” A third wrote: “Hire amorim and sack him again.”

January 26: Romeo Beckham’s Brutal Response as David Mocks Him After Arsenal 2-3 Man Utd

The Beckham family have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, after eldest son Brooklyn explained in an explosive statement just why he would no longer be talking to parents David and Victoria.

In lighter news, however, Man United legend David was able to share in a good bit of banter with second oldest son Romeo. After his former side beat Arsenal 3-2 in the Premier League over the weekend, the ex-England captain couldn’t help but tease his Arsenal-supporting son.

He wrote: “You okay, Romeo???” To which, the former Brentford academy player sent back a picture of the league table, and told his dad: “Don’t get too gassed,” and to “mind the gap.”

Romeo was actually part of the Arsenal’s Academy, joining in 2014, but was released the following year. He also spent time with Inter Miami before joining Brentford in 2023, but never played a senior game for either team, quitting football in 2024.

January 25: What Kylian Mbappe Said to Brahim Diaz After Scoring Real Madrid Panenka

Brahim Diaz made global headlines after he missed his penalty for Morocco in the AFCON final, which played a huge part in their loss to Senegal. With the scores level at 0-0, the winger had the chance to win the tournament with essentially the last kick of the game. Not only did he miss, however, but he did so with a feeble Panenka attempt that was easily saved by Edouard Mendy.

Diaz was understandably devastated as Senegal went on to win the final 1-0 in extra time, but on his first game back since the miss, club teammate Kylian Mbappe has appeared to show him some solidarity – albeit in a slightly odd manner. When Real Madrid won their own penalty against Villarreal, the Frenchman showed Diaz’s how to score a Panenka as he calmly chipped the ball in to seal a 94th-minute victory.

Footage has now emerged with Mbappe smiling as he celebrated the goal, before appearing to directly tell Diaz it was: “For you, for you.” The French star later confirmed to the media that the gesture was deliberate, noting: “It was support for him.”

Brahim Diaz hit the headlines in the 2025 AFCON final after his incredible penalty miss in stoppage-time. The Moroccan produced one of the worst penalties in football history as his ‘panenka’ attempt was easily saved by Edouard Mendy.

A Chilean footballer has now gone viral after taking an even worse penalty than the Real Madrid star. Colo Colo’s Cristian Zavala decided to channel his inner Diaz as he too tried to chip the ball down the middle. Unfortunately for him, his tame effort bounced before it had even reached the goal and was then gathered easily by the opposition goalkeeper.

Zavala is being mocked on Reddit after going down with an injury following his attempt. One wrote: “I haven’t cringed this hard in quite some time, why embarrass yourself like this?”, while another said: “The shame was so much his knee gave out in sympathy.” A third commented: “Hahaha. The classic injury to gain sympathy trick.”

January 21: Meaning Behind Jude Bellingham’s Bizarre Goal Celebration vs Monaco

Jude Bellingham produced a bizarre celebration after scoring in Real Madrid’s 6-1 demolition of Monaco on Tuesday evening. The celebration was done after Spanish YouTuber AuronPlay claimed Belliingham ‘loves alcohol too much’ and has visited ‘every nightclub in Spain’, suggesting this is affecting the midfielder’s form. Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Bellingham said:

“It feels like anyone now can get a camera, say what they want and the whole world just believes them with no evidence. I feel there’s two ways you can take it. You can cry about it and moan, or you can just roll with it and enjoy it.

“I know what I give to the game, what I give in the game and what I try to give to the team. All the outside noise doesn’t really matter but it’s nice to have a little joke.”

January 20: Wayne Rooney Shuts Down Arsenal vs Man Utd Question

Wayne Rooney left no one in any doubts about who he thinks would win between his Manchester United team and Mikel Arteta’s current Arsenal side. Former Gunner Theo Walcott asked how the 2008 United compares to the north Londoners. Rooney’s response was short and sweet, but brutal in equal measure. He left Walcott and presenter Gabby Logan in laughter with his three-word rebuttal:

Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella is being slammed by many football fans online after ’embarrassing’ footage emerged from their Premier League win over Brentford. In the 36th minute, Kevin Schade appealed for a penalty following a Brentford corner but his protests fell on deaf ears.

Cucurella then ran up to Schade, who reacted angrily by pushing the Spaniard to the floor. The Chelsea left-back fell to the turf and stayed there as his opponent was given a yellow card. Cucurella is now being slammed for provoking his opponent and then flopping to the ground in an attempt to get him sent off.

“Cucurella is a stain on the game”, one said, while another commented: “This kind of stuff should get you banned for life.” A third stated: “‘Actually the most embarrassing player ever”.

January 17: Ousmane Dembele Scores Puskas Award Contender

Ousmane Dembele scored an early contender for the 2026 Puskas Award during Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-0 win over Lille on Friday night. The France international, who was named the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner in September, showed neat footwork inside the box before producing the most perfect chip over goalkeeper Berke Ozer.

“I’ve rewatched that Dembele goal 20 times and I still don’t understand the physics,” one stunned football fan wrote on X (Twitter). “The dip, the power, the pure audacity to even try that… it’s not just a goal, it’s a glitch in the matrix. Wrap the Puskas Award in bubble wrap and send it to his house right now. Absolute cinema!”

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.