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.

21st August: Sven-Goran Eriksson Delivers a Final Goodbye

The former England boss shared a moving message

Earlier this year, Sven-Goran Eriksson shared the devastating news that he had terminal cancer, with ‘at best’ a year left to live. One of football’s icons throughout the 2000s, the revelation was met with shock and sorrow from fans, ex-players and pundits alike. Now, the former Three Lions boss has shared what seems like a final goodbye message to fans, via The Mirror.

In a moment that will be the culmination of his new documentary ‘Sven’ which will released on Amazon soon, the Swede can be seen sitting in his native Sweden, looking out over a lake. From there, he delivers his farewell message, wishing that people would remember the good about him.

“I had a good life. I think we are all scared of the day when we die, but life is about death as well. You have to learn to accept it for what it is. Hopefully at the end people will say, yeah, he was a good man, but everyone will not say that.

“I hope you will remember me as a positive guy trying to do everything he could do. Don’t be sorry, smile. Thank you for everything, coaches, players, the crowds, it’s been fantastic. Take care of yourself and take care of your life. And live it. Bye.”

20th August: Toni Kroos Reacts to Ilkay Gundogan Leaving Barcelona

Real Madrid great was shocked by the news

Ilkay Gundogan might only have joined Barcelona a year ago, but the German already looks like he will be leaving the club during the summer transfer window. The Catalan side are reportedly even willing to let him leave for free so that they can free up their wage bill for new signings.

News of his potential departure has been met with some shock, and former Real Madrid star Toni Kroos was one individual who expressed his surprise at the news. Reacting to Fabrizio Romano’s post on Instagram, the now-retired midfielder simply said ‘WOW’ followed by three emojis. It certainly seems as if he’s not in favour of the decision.

19th August: Vardy Winds up Cristian Romero

Things got heated between the striker and the Spurs man

Leicester City returned to Premier League action for the first time since being relegated in the 2022/23 season. The Foxes welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to the King Power stadium but fell behind thanks to a first-half goal from defender Pedro Porro.

However, in typical fashion, Jamie Vardy was on hand to bag an equaliser, before he then took time to wind up the opposition players as he was substituted. Pointing at the Premier League badge and gesturing to the away supporters, he then got into a war of words with defender Cristian Romero, illustrating the fact that he remains the same wind-up merchant that fans have grown to love over the years.

19th August: Haaland’s Reaction to Cucurella Asking for Help

New footage has emerged

It took Erling Haaland just 18 minutes to make Marc Cucurella regret his eyebrow-raising song that mentioned the lethal Manchester City forward ‘trembling’ at the prospect of facing him. The Chelsea defender was effortlessly brushed aside by the powerful Norwegian, who opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Cucurella went off injured 10 minutes before full-time after pulling up with what initially appeared to be a potential hamstring injury. As the Spaniard cried out for help, Haaland was seen calmly strolling past him. New footage has now emerged which shows the 24-year-old looking down at his opponent while smiling. Revenge truly is a dish best served ice-cold.

19th August: Footballer in Peru Receives Embarrassing Red Card

Sebastian Munoz goes viral for all the wrong reasons

​​​​​A footballer in Peru has gone viral on social media for what’s being described as ‘the most embarrassing sending off ever’. Atletico Awajun’s Sebastian Munoz was spotted with his back to the pitch by the corner flag while Cantorcillo goalkeeper Lucho Ruiz received treatment for an injury during a match at the Copa Peru.

Munoz was waiting to take a corner but took the opportunity to, ahem… relieve himself by urinating by the side of the pitch. The referee spotted what was happening and marched over before brandishing a straight red card – presumably for unsportsmanlike conduct. When you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go. Just don’t do it on the side of the pitch while preparing to take a corner.

18th August: Current Premier League Players Select Best Ever Captain

Roy Keane proved to be a popular choice among current skippers

The Premier League has been blessed with players who have proven to be exceptional captains for their clubs over the years. The likes of Roy Keane, Steven Gerrard and John Terry all spring to mind. And in a new video, Sky Sports asked current skippers who the best captain in English top flight history was.

Son Heung-min, Jamie Vardy and Bruno Fernandes were among those asked to give their opinion, with Vincent Kompany and Nemanja Vidic both named. However, it was Keane who proved to be the most popular choice among those included in the footage, as the Irishman collected three out of a possible seven votes.

17th August: Yerson Mosquera Angers Gabriel Jesus

Jesus was given a yellow card for his reaction

Yerson Mosquera made Gabriel Jesus lose his head with a bizarre piece of s**thousery in the match between Arsenal and Wolves at the Emirates Stadium. With Arsenal 2-0 up and the match approaching stoppage-time, the Wolves defender decided to touch Jesus’ backside and pull the Brazilian forward towards him as he was tying his shoelaces. This provoked an angry reaction from Jesus, who pushed Mosquera to the floor. Jesus was given a yellow card for his actions while Mosquera escaped without punishment.

That wasn’t the only controversial moment Mosquera was involved in; earlier on in the game he appeared to choke Kai Havertz while he was on the ground.

17th August: Cristiano Ronaldo Fumes During Saudi Super Cup

Al-Nassr went 4-1 down in the tie

Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Nassr were back in action as they took on Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup final. And the Portuguese icon managed to put his side in front just before half-time when he poked the ball into the back of the net from close range.

There was hope that Al-Nassr could maintain and potentially even build on their lead after the interval, but everything fell apart for them in 17 minutes as Al-Hilal found the back of the net four times to put the tie out of sight. And Ronaldo was absolutely fuming with his side’s actions, as he seemingly gestured that all of his teammates were sleeping as Malcolm grabbed the fourth of the game.

17th August: Dan Burn Clashes With Jan Bednarek in the Tunnel

The players came to blows after Fabian Schar’s red card

Tunnel footage captured Dan Burn and Jan Bednerak clashing at half-time of the match between Newcastle and Southampton at St James’ Park. There was a highly controversial moment in the opening 45 minutes when Fabian Schar was given a red card after coming to blows with Ben Brereton Diaz. Burn was not happy with the decision at all and was seen waiting for Brereton Diaz in the tunnel to give him a piece of his mind. Bednerak objected to Burn’s actions and it led to the two angrily pushing and shoving.

17th August: Fabian Schar Given Harsh Red Card

The Newcastle defender was shown his marching orders after clashing with Brereton Diaz

Newcastle were reduced to 10 men just before the half-an-hour mark on the opening day of the season against Southampton as Fabian Schar was showing his marching orders. Schar was furious after Ben Brereton Diaz bundled him to the ground long after the whistle had blown. Schar picked himself off the ground and went head-to-head with his opponent, who flopped to the floor.

While contact was minimal, referee Craig Pawson pulled out his red card and sent Schar indoors for an early bath. That decision did not go down well with the home fans inside St James’ Park, unsurprisingly, who changed ‘you’re not fit to referee!’ at Pawson.

17th August: Luton’s Keeper Sent Off in Hilarious Fashion

Brutally took out two Portsmouth men

Having been relegated from the Premier League last season, Luton Town would have been hoping to enjoy better fortunes back in the Championship. They have, however, made a slow start to the new campaign.

Indeed, having been thumped 4-1 at home by Burnley on the opening day, they travelled for Portsmouth for their second fixture. Rob Edwards’ men got off to a terrible start, though, with his goalkeeper sent off after 31 minutes.

As shown in the footage above Thomas Kaminski rushed out of his box to deal with the ball over the top. Not only did he clatter an opposing player at his first attempt, he then smashed through another. The referee had no option but to reach for the red.