Today in Football - Things You May Have Missed

Fast Links
Man City Was Astonished in the FA Cup Fourth Round on February 8th
February 8: The Disgraceful Foul Throw by Noussair Mazraoui
Van Dijk Trolls Richarlison on February 6th
Ian Wright Attacks the Premier League for “Monitoring” Provocative Goal Celebrations on February 5th
February 4th: Messi’s Reaction to the Question “Is He the Best Ever?”
Marcus Rashford Selects a New Squad Number on February 3rd
Sancho Expresses His Emotions After Rashford Leaves Man United on February 3rd
Gabriel Applauds Odegaard’s Goal Against Man City in Haaland’s Face on February 2nd
‘Unthinkable’ Error: Van Persie Furiously Attacks Match Officials on February 2nd
February 2: Santos Supporters Express Similar Worries About Neymar’s Reveal
February 1st: The Strange Corner Routine of Blackburn Rovers
31 January: Following Man Utd’s victory, Ruben Amorim made a thoughtful gesture to the FCSB manager.
January 30: PSV Goes Viral After Making Fun of Liverpool in the Last Seconds of Their 3-2 Win
January 29: Ollie Watkins Handles One of the Worst Champions League Penalties You’ll Ever Witness
January 29: Fans Astonished by Neto’s Positioning Against Girona
During the victory over Ipswich on January 27, a Liverpool transfer target was spotted in the crowd.
Football is a game that never sleeps. Somewhere in the world, someone is engaged in some aspect of the beautiful game during each of the 86400 seconds that make up a 24-hour day. This might be anything from booting a ball against a wall with friends to sharing their expert analysis on social media or winning a high-profile match at the last minute.

Since no human can possibly keep up with everything that happens during a game, football is often made great by the small but fascinating moments, such as a fan’s alternate perspective on a penalty save, a three-second but incredibly telling exchange between two bitter rivals, or a thread on X that explains why N’Golo Kante is the nicest man in professional sports.

In order to address that issue, GIVEMESPORT developed our live blog, which offers the best social media features available along with the best football mini-stories from the previous day.

Man City Was Astonished in the FA Cup Fourth Round on February 8th
Leyton Orient of League One surprised the Citizens.

https://twitter.com/EmiratesFACup/status/1888205438887297360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1888205438887297360%7Ctwgr%5E4a44699e77e6051ee9b3c114cf5895ffa405defe%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givemesport.com%2Ftoday-in-football-things-you-may-have-missed%2F

As the Premier League champions fell behind League One team Leyton Orient in the FA Cup fourth round, Manchester City’s luck appeared to become worse. Pep Guardiola’s team was troubled defensively and wasted a number of good opportunities in the first twenty minutes.

Jamie Donley fired a strong shot from nearly the halfway line towards Stefan Ortega’s goal, giving the home crowd something to cheer about. The ball struck the goalie and crossed the line after crashing off the crossbar. Even while it might not be his objective, Donley will be able to treasure that magical moment for a very long time.

February 8: The Disgraceful Foul Throw by Noussair Mazraoui
He was ‘fined a week’s wages,’ according to some calls.

"He should be fined a week's wages for that!"

Foul throw from Mazraoui…#MUFC | #LCFC | @EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/xVbnHRlrDG

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) February 7, 2025

At Old Trafford, Manchester United’s thrilling victory over Leicester City in the FA Cup Fourth Round on Friday was anything but spectacular. Despite being in an offside position, a contentious Harry Maguire goal saved Ruben Amorim’s team from having to play an additional half.

Actually, it wasn’t a particularly noteworthy performance, and the Red Devils were fortunate to advance to the following round. Noussair Mazraoui committed a foul throw-in as one of the home team’s mistakes. After faltering in his run-up, the Moroccan threw the ball towards the ground, in violation of FA Law 15.1.

“He should be fined a week’s wages for that,” said Lee Dixon, a former Arsenal mainstay who was commentating the game on ITV. Why don’t you toss a ball in? The defender had to limp back to defend a risky Leicester throw-in, and the humiliation was likely enough punishment.

Van Dijk Trolls Richarlison on February 6th
“Not seen that one since the primary school playground”

pic.twitter.com/PAvRCfNtk2

— James (@lfcjames1892) February 6, 2025

Tensions were high from the first minute of the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. There was a tense mood at Anfield from the start of the match because the host team was behind 1-0.

Perhaps taking advantage of that, captain Virgil van Dijk was involved in two early-game skirmishes, both of which featured Richarlison of Spurs. First off, after elbowing the Brazilian in the neck, he was lucky to escape a red card.

To make matters worse, he taunted Richarlison with some actions just off the school grounds a little later in the first half, according to journalist Lewis Steel, who posted the following online:

“Virgil van Dijk simply offered to assist Richarlison get off the ground. Van Dijk yanks it away as Richarlison grabs for it. I haven’t seen that one since the playground at elementary school.

Ian Wright Attacks the Premier League for “Monitoring” Provocative Goal Celebrations on February 5th
The legendary Arsenal player went viral with a funny reaction to reports of possible sanctions.

https://twitter.com/IanWright0/status/1887207863400985073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1887207863400985073%7Ctwgr%5E4a44699e77e6051ee9b3c114cf5895ffa405defe%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.givemesport.com%2Ftoday-in-football-things-you-may-have-missed%2F

When Myles Lewis-Skelly of Arsenal imitated Erling Haaland’s contemplative celebration after scoring in a 5-1 victory over Manchester City, Ian Wright was perplexed by claims that the Premier League was keeping an eye on goal celebrations that “mock” their rivals.

“They would be calling for me to be locked up!!!” the former Gunners striker wrote on his X account, along by a video of one of his goal celebrations. The festivities were already being ruined by VAR, and now this! Kmt.

Although Wright’s fellow Stick to Football podcasters Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher thought Lewis-Skelly’s impersonation of Haaland was “disrespectful,” he was not punished for it. Iliman Ndiaye of Everton received a booking for flapping his arms like a seagull after celebrating a goal against Brighton & Hove Albion.

February 4th: Messi’s Reaction to the Question “Is He the Best Ever?”
After Cristiano Ronaldo declared himself the greatest of all time, his remarks went viral once more.

Are you the best player in history?

Messi after his 8th ballon d’or : pic.twitter.com/zYFG9orLeZ

— Naija (@Naija_PR) February 4, 2025

Cristiano Ronaldo openly proclaimed himself the best football player of all time in an open interview with Spanish TV. “I think I am the most complete player in history. It’s me. Without hesitation, he declared, “I think I am the greatest player ever.”

Since then, an old video of Lionel Messi responding to the same question following his record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or has surfaced, supporting his confident claim. The sharp difference between their answers says it all. Messi approached such a crucial subject with far more flexibility. His Argentinean opponent commented, when Ronaldo displayed his arrogant side:

As I usually say, I’m not sure if I’m the greatest person in history, and I don’t care or ask myself that question. It is a gift to me that I am considered to be among the best. It is truly unique. Everybody, worldwide, starts playing football at a very young age. Every child aspires to play professional football. It is an honour and a huge source of pride to be told that I can be among the finest.