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.

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2nd October: ‘Brest’ Chat Leaves CBS Sports Panel in Stitches

Pundits couldn’t resist a few innuendos

Another Champions League night, another hilarious CBS Sports clip goes viral on social media. This time, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards were discussing French side Brest, who demolished Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 away from home on Tuesday evening. Brest currently occupy second spot in the Champions League table, having won both of their opening two matches.

“Brest actually play Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday three, so that will be an interesting one,” presenter Kate Scott (previously Abdo) said. Henry then replied: “It’s a big one…”. Carragher and Scott immediately started laughing before Richards delivered the killer line: “Bit lopsided, I think…”

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29th September: Supporter Wins Fortune in Half-Time Competition

Sparta Prague fan made incredible halfway line shot to win jackpot

One football fan had a night to remember, after he made an incredible shot from the halfway line to win the jackpot in a half-time competition. Czech side Sparta Prague invited the supporter onto the pitch to try and convert an effort from the centre-circle, which had to find a small goal placed in the middle of the full size net.

Incredibly, the supporter’s curling effort was perfectly placed, sending those in attendance and the mascot by the goal into raptures. He walked away with one million Czech Koruna, which is the equivalent of around £33,000 – a very healthy sum indeed.

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29th September: Luis Suarez Has One of the Worst Misses in Years

The Inter Miami man will be questioning how he didn’t score

Luis Suarez is one of the greatest forwards of the 21st century, but he had a performance to forget during Inter Miami’s recent 1-1 draw with Charlotte. The forward arrived in Florida earlier this summer to reunite with former teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba and the move has been a hit so far. He’s scored 17 goals in 24 MLS games for the club, but the match against Charlotte will be one he wants to forget as he recorded one of the worst misses in years.

After the ball was headed across the face of the goal, all the Uruguayan had to do was side-foot it into the back of the net, but he inexplicably fired it over the bar from just inches away from the goal-line. To add insult to injury, the incident occurred in the dying stages of the contest and would have almost certainly secured all three points for his team.

Fans were left shocked by the miss, with many taking to social media afterwards to reveal as much. One X user called it a ‘generational miss’, while another called for Suarez to ‘just retire’. Another fan just couldn’t hide their shock, posting ‘NO WAY’ in regards to the video.

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28th September: Cole Palmer’s Pre-Season Prediction Comes True

Chelsea star scored four goals against Brighton

Cole Palmer had a day to remember against Brighton, not only scoring a sensational free-kick to complete a hat-trick, but also grabbing a fourth in the Blues’ 4-2 victory. In doing so, he became part of an impressive class of players to have scored four times in a single match.

Shortly afterwards, an old video of Palmer from before the 2024/25 season then emerged on social media. Taking part in Chelsea’s media duties, the attacking midfielder was asked by the team to hold up three fingers to celebrate scoring a hat-trick, only to then ask what about if he scored four. It demonstrated remarkable confidence at the time, but to go and actually fulfill his prediction shows how well he’s playing righ now.

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28th September: Cole Palmer’s Incredible Free-Kick Seals Hat Trick

The midfielder scored three in the space of 10 minutes

It was absolute mayhem at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea hosted Brighton this afternoon. In all the chaos though, there was even more quality from one Cole Palmer. After the hosts had gone behind inside ten minutes, the England international thought he had brought them level until the offside flag went up.

Palmer didn’t have to wait long, as he notched a double within five minutes of his disallowed strike. Things would get even better just after the half hour mark, as the 22-year-old bent an incredible free-kick home from some distance to extend his side’s lead in some style.

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27th September: Andy Carroll’s Surprise Bordeaux Wage Revealed

Carroll Admits It’s Costing Him Money to Play

Andy Carroll made the surprise move to Bordeaux earlier this summer as he joined the French fourth tier club on a free transfer. He enjoyed a dream debut last week as he scored twice, the second being an 88th minute equaliser. It has since been revealed that the Englishman, now 35, is earning €3.5k per month at the club. Carroll has now conceded that it is actually costing him money to play for the club. He told RMC Sport, per Goal:

“That’s what I told you before, it’s simply because I love football. To be honest, it even costs me money to play for Bordeaux. But I play football and I’m simply happy to play football. I want to be part of the history of this club and to be honest it’s not a question of money. In my career, it’s never been a question of money.”

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26th September: Jordan Henderson Loses His Cool With Ajax Teammate

The former Liverpool captain could be seen squaring up with Bertrand Traore

It was a comfortable European night for Dutch giants Ajax, but that didn’t stop captain Jordan Henderson from squaring up to teammate Bertrand Traore during their clash with Besiktas. The Amsterdam outfit ran out 4-0 winners on Thursday, but it was an incident on the hour mark that got everyone talking.

After the former Chelsea forward lost possession and gave away a free kick, he could be seen confronting Kian Fitz-Kim as Henderson intervened. The ex-England international could be seen calling the Burkina Faso star ’embarrassing’ while being pulled away by his colleagues who attempted to defuse the situation.

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25th September: Endrick called out for shocking incident vs Alaves

Fans think he should be handed a lengthy ban

Until the 83rd minute of Real Madrid’s La Liga match against Alaves on Tuesday night, there was little controversy. The home team was comfortably ahead, leading 3-0. However, things took a turn when Endrick seemingly kicked opposing defender Santiago Mourino in the groin off the ball. Los Blancos briefly lost focus, conceding two quick goals and giving their opponents hope. But, by full-time, Endrick would have felt fortunate to stay on the pitch and see his team secure all three points.

Alaves head coach Luis Garcia Plaza spoke on the incident post-match, and admitted to being in disbelief that a red card was not shown. “Endrick should’ve been sent off, it was a clear red card”, he said. “No one can say that it wasn’t a red for Endrick. He should’ve been sent off. We should’ve played the last 10 minutes against 10 men.” This was a view reciprocated by onlookers, with one fan on Reddit asking, “What is the point of VAR if we’re not gonna check back and give a red for this?”

Another user added, “This is just disgusting. He kicks him in between the legs, should really be a 3 game ban minimum,” while a third said, “Can Real players just do anything they want at this point without getting sent off? This is borderline assault.”

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24th September: Milan Lose Rights to Host 2027 Champions League Final

Concerns over San Siro being be completed in time

The Italian city of Milan has been in line to host the 2027 Champions League final. However, according to journalist James Benge, UEFA has stripped those plans away from San Siro.

The decision comes as there was no guarantee that refurbishment works around the San Siro would be completed in time. A new venue for the European cup final is now expected to be confirmed in May or June of next year.

UEFA have since concerned the reports, explaining: “As the Municipality of Milano could not guarantee that the San Siro and its surroundings would not be affected by refurbishments, it was today decided to re-open the bidding process for the 2027 #UCL final. A decision on the new host is expected to be made in May/June 2025.”

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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.

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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.

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22nd September: Milutin Osmajic Bites Owen Beck

Tempers flared in the Lancashire Derby

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.”