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.
23rd September: Erling Haaland Clatters Into Thomas Partey
Erling Haaland was well and truly fired up after Manchester City’s dramatic late equaliser against Arsenal on Sunday afternoon. John Stones’ late goal rescued a precious point for Pep Guardiola’s side and Haaland went viral for picking the ball out of the net and throwing it at the back of Gabriel’s head.
From the restart, the powerful Norwegian then charged into Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who was standing in his way, flattering the Ghana midfielder in the process. Footage recorded by a fan in the stands at the Etihad Stadium captured the moment perfectly. “Haaland is a menace,” wrote one fan on X (Twitter). After what we saw in Manchester on Sunday, it’s hard to disagree.
22nd September: Morgan Gibbs-White Shown Red Card for Heavy Challenge
Both managers were sent off too
There were chaotic scenes in the match between Brighton and Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon after Morgan Gibbs-White, as well as managers Nuno Espírito Santo and Fabian Hürzeler, were all sent off in the space of a few moments. It all kicked off late in the second half when Gibbs-White went flying into a challenge on Joao Pedro. The Englishman was shown a second yellow card for the challenge while both managers were also sent off for their reaction.
The game eventually finished 2-2 as the spoils were shared. The two sides remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season, having both amassed nine two wins and three draws from their opening five games.
22nd September: Milutin Osmajic Bites Owen Beck
Tempers flared in the Lancashire Derby
Blackburn’s Championship clash against Preston North End saw tempers spill over after Owen Beck appeared to get bitten by his opponent, Milutin Osmajic. The Liverpool loanee was the one who was sent off, though – and Rovers manager John Eustace made no secret of his thoughts on the decision in his post-match interview.
Speaking in his post-match interview, Eustace said his player had a ‘big bite mark on his neck’. He told talkSPORT: “He’s got a big bite mark on the back of his neck, and he’s been in and showed all the lads that. He’s very disappointed to be sent off, but obviously he doesn’t like to have that on the back of his neck as well, so he’s a bit quiet in there and a bit shook up.” Asked by Sky Sports if the decision would be appealed, he said: “We’ll have to wait and see.”
It was a move reminiscent of Luis Suarez’s infamous bite on Branislav Ivanovic in 2013. As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Preston player faces a lengthy ban.
Lucky to avoid red card vs Crystal Palace
During Manchester United’s away trip to Cyrstal Palace, defender Lisandro Martinez was somewhat fortunate to avoid further punishment for his two-footed foul on Daichi Kamada.
The game was poised at 0-0 with just over an hour on the clock when the challenge came in. Perhaps frustrated by his teammate’s inability to turn their dominance into goals, the Argentine went into a duel with the opposition midfielder in an overzealous fashion.
Fortunately for Kamada, Martinez did get the ball without crunching too much of the Palace man. VAR didn’t feel there was enough in it to overturn to onfield decision of a yellow card. This was officially explained by the Premier League Match Centre:
“The referee issued a yellow card to Martinez for a challenge on Kamada. VAR checked for a potential red card and confirmed the referee’s call of no red card, deeming this was a reckless challenge and made no contact with Kamada.
The explanation hasn’t gone down too well with football fans on X (formerly Twitter). One fan said: “Another week of them just making up rules and changing them as we go along”, while another commented: “So now you can jump off the ground two footed at a player, sound”.
It was deemed a “moronic explanation” by one fan, while another stated: “So it’s only a red if you jump two footed and actually catch players? I mean that’s one way of looking after players on field I suppose.”
21st September: Bryan Mbeumo Scores Stunning Volley Against Tottenham
Brentford forward scored after just 22 seconds
Tottenham were hoping to bounce back from a defeat against rivals Arsenal in their match against Brentford, but quickly found themselves pegged back thanks to a stunning strike from Bryan Mbeumo. The forward, unmarked in the box, showed incredible technique to volley home from close range.
Conceding such an incredible goal inside 22 seconds would have been a bitter pill to swallow for Ange Postecoglou, especially given the nature of the defending. The strike took Mbeumo’s record to four goals for the 2024/25 season, with him expertly filling in up front following the departure of Ivan Toney.
21st September: The Meaning Behind Nicolas Jackson’s New Celebration
‘I dreamt it two days ago…’
Chelsea got their weekend off to the perfect start as they dismantled West Ham with a 3-0 away win in the Premier League. Nicolas Jackson was very much the star of the show as he netted an early brace, while also getting an assist for Cole Palmer.
Having got his name on the score sheet, the striker caught the eye as he did his best impression of Michael Jackson with his dance moves lifted straight from the musician’s iconic ‘Thriller’ music video. Speaking after the game, he explained his inspiration:
“I did it to remember the legend [Michael] Jackson. I was dreaming about to it, so I just did it because I dreamt it two days ago. So I just did it, yeah.”
Arteta spoke in fluent Italian
Mikel Arteta has stunned football fans after footage of an interview he gave on Italian TV went viral on social media. Following Arsenal’s Champions League draw against Atalanta in midweek, Arteta spoke to Sport Italia, where he proceeded to speak in fluent Italian despite never having lived in Italy.
Back in 2020, Arteta revealed he decided to put effort into learning Italian because he loved the culture and the language. Remarkably, he also speaks six other languages: Basque, Spanish, English, Portuguese, French & Catalan.
19th September: Victor Boniface Channels Thierry Henry With Incredible Pre-Assist
Bayer Leverkusen star Victor Boniface made his Champions League debut one to remember as Bayer Leverkusen run riot against Dutch side Feyenoord. The 23-year-old Nigerian was making his first appearance in the competition outside of four previous qualifying matches, and produced one of the most incredible passes in the build up to his side’s second goal of the game.
Picking the ball up on the edge of the area and neatly getting away from his defenders, Boniface pulled off and incredible no-look lay off with his instep just like legendary Frenchman Thierry Henry. This allowed teammate Jeremie Frimpong to set up Alex Grimaldo, who converted from close range.
19th September: Fans Concerned About Brennan Johnson
Tottenham player looked apprehensive to celebrate in front of own fans
Fans have expressed their concern for Brennan Johnson after footage went viral of the Tottenham star looking apprehensive to celebrate in front of his own supporters, despite scoring the winning goal against Coventry City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night. Johnson joined Spurs in September 2023 for a fee in the region of £45 million but has received criticism for his performances.
The 23-year-old deactivated his Instagram account following Tottenham’s defeat to bitter rivals Arsenal and looked nervous at full-time as Spurs scraped past Championship outfit Coventry. “This is actually really sad,” one fan wrote. “Abuse from rival fans is one thing, but you don’t expect it from your own to the level I see across social media.” While another said: “Look what people done to him he didn’t even want to celebrate after all the c**p he has received from our fans.”
19th September: Micah Richards’ Hilarious David Beckham Gaffe
Pundit leaves his fellow CBS Sports pundits in stitches
Micah Richards left his fellow CBS Sports pundits in stitches with a hilarious verbal gaffe about David Beckham on Wednesday night. Reflecting on meeting Beckham on the show the previous night, Richards innocently said: “I got his sticky stuff as well, didn’t I?”
This was followed by an awkward pause followed by Jamie Carragher and presenter Kate Scott both cracking up laughing. Thierry Henry, meanwhile, hid his face behind some paper. “The honey!” Richards quickly added. “What is wrong with your minds? It says on the honey: ‘David Beckham’s sticky stuff’!” Peter Schmeichel, reporting from the Etihad Stadium, was also in stitches. It’s only September but we’ve already been treated to one of this season’s funniest TV moments.
18th September: Simone Inzaghi’s Furious Reaction to Darmian’s Backpass
Inter manager was raging after his defender wasted an excellent chance against Man City
Manchester City and Inter Milan’s Champions League tie was hardly a classic to kick off their respective campaigns. The two teams who contested the 2022/23 Champions League final played out a goalless draw at the Etihad, although both had chances to win it.
The Italian side’s best chance fell to former Manchester United defender Matteo Darmian, who was played through on goal early in the second half. Unfortunately for the visitors, he then decided a backheel to a teammate rather than firing a shot on goal. That left his manager, Simone Inzaghi, absolutely incandescent, with his furious reaction to the play emerging after the game. No doubt Darmian got the hairdryer treatment in the dressing room afterwards.
18th September: Thierry Henry Involved in Awkward Exchange With Reporter
The Champions League might be back, but Thierry Henry didn’t appear to be in the best of moods during his appearance on CBS Sports on Tuesday night. The legendary Frenchman was accused of being ‘strange and awkward’ during an interview with AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic. Meanwhile, another clip has gone viral of another awkward exchange involving Henry and CBS Sports reporter Mike Grella.
Henry wasn’t happy when Grella said: “I know you played in MLS. I replaced you – remember?”. Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards got up and jokingly left the studio while Henry bit back at the former New York Red Bulls player. Awkward!
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