Analysing the best Premier League penalty takers
A look at the best when put on the spot
Alan Shearer, Matt Le Tissier…. Denis Irwin. They are all players synonymous with slotting away penalties during their time in the Premier League. But who are the best from 12 yards out of the current crop of top-flight stars?
With the introduction of VAR and the number of spot-kicks awarded increasing year on year, it has never been more important to have a lethal penalty taker amongst the ranks.
Here we take a look at some of the best Premier League penalty takers.
Mo Salah
One of the best players in the world at present, Salah is enjoying one of his best seasons in a Liverpool shirt and has already notched 15 goals in the Premier League in 18 appearances.
Two of those have come from the penalty spot and he has the best record of current Premier League penalty takers, scoring 15 of the 16 spot-kicks he has taken at a conversion rate of 93.8 per cent.
A successful penalty against Atletico Madrid in October adds to Salah’s impressive record from 12 yards and throughout his career he has missed only four of the 28 penalties he has taken and has only once failed to convert since 2018.
Callum Wilson
Perhaps a surprising name towards the top of the penalties charts, Wilson has converted 10 of the 11 Premier League penalties he has taken.
That gives him a strike rate of 90.9 per cent and his successful spot kick against Norwich accounts for one of his six goals he has scored for Newcastle this term.
Five of those top-flight goals from the spot have come for the Magpies, with the other five and his sole miss coming when down on the south coast with Bournemouth.
Wilson has an overall career penalty success rate of 82.35 per cent and he has clearly improved from the spot since making the step up to the top flight.
James Milner
One of the elder statesmen of the Premier League, Milner has slotted home from 12 yards for three different Premier League sides in his career.
He fired home against David James for his first top-flight goal from the penalty spot when playing for Aston Villa in 2009, with his most recent successful penalty coming on Boxing Day 2019 when beating Kasper Schmeichel during Liverpool’s 4-0 win over Leicester.
He has converted 17 of his 19 Premier League penalties, missing once for Villa in 2019 and once for Liverpool in 2017.
He has a Premier League conversion rate of just under 90 per cent at 89.5 and a career record of 30 successful penalties and five misses.
Harry Kane
Everyone is familiar with Kane’s trademark shuffle and three-pace run-up before firing the ball towards the target and that has been successful 88.9 per cent of the time in the Premier League.
The three-time Premier League Golden Boot winner has scored 24 of the 27 penalties he has taken for Tottenham, with his last miss for Spurs coming in February 2018 when he failed to beat Loris Karius of Liverpool.
Penalties are also responsible for over a quarter of his 48 international goals, with the England skipper scoring 13 times from the spot for the Three Lions.
His miss in the Euro 2020 semi-final was his first for two years and as one of the best Premier League penalty takers in modern times, Kane has scored 47 of the 55 career penalties taken.
Jorginho
A specialist from the spot, the Italy international became the first player in Premier League history to score 10 consecutive goals from the penalty spot when converting against Newcastle earlier in the season.
Third in the most recent Ballon D’Or vote behind Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho starred for Italy in their successful Euro 2020 campaign, scoring the winning penalty in the semi-final shoot-out with Spain.
His stuttering run-up failed him in the final when Jordan Pickford denied him the chance to seal the trophy for the Azzurri, but it wasn’t enough to deny Italy their first major tournament triumph since 2006.
What's better than one Jorginho penalty? π€
…TWO! π€© pic.twitter.com/6WKyQu09oK
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 4, 2020
A scorer of 15 of his 17 spot-kicks in the Premier League, he has scored all four penalties he has taken in the top flight this season, but has missed his last two for his national side, both coming in World Cup qualifying this autumn against Switzerland.
Luka Milivojevic
Another who excels from 12 yards, the Serbian has scored 22 times from the spot for Crystal Palace, converting 88 per cent of his penalties.
Penalties are responsible for 46.8 perc ent of Milivojevic’s career goals and only six of his 28 goals for the Eagles have come from open play.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The decorated Portuguese superstar has scored 13 of the 15 penalties he has taken for Manchester United during his two spells with the club.
That gives him a Premier League conversion rate of 86.7 per cent, which compares favourably to a career conversion rate of 83.62 per cent.
He has scored twice from the spot for the Red Devils since returning to Old Trafford, both in winning causes, and only three of his 28 career misses have come in the red shirt of Manchester United.
πΎππ the penalty.
πΊπππππ the penalty.π― @Cristiano #MUFC | #NORMUN pic.twitter.com/eqt1qawBuB
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 11, 2021
One of the greatest to play the game, he has scored a whopping 143 times from the penalty spot in his career.
He scored 61 of the 71 penalties he took for Real Madrid in La Liga and has scored 16 from the 23 times he has stepped up for the Portuguese national side.
Bruno Fernandes
Before being recently relieved of penalty-taking duties at Old Trafford due to the arrival of Ronaldo combining with a last-gasp miss from the spot against Aston Villa, Fernandes had a Premier League conversion rate of 86.7 per cent.
That is exactly the same as his Portuguese compatriot and he has proven deadly from the spot in recent seasons, firing home 13 of his 15 top-flight penalties taken.
Fernandes has scored 42 of the 46 penalties he has taken throughout his career, which gives him a career conversion rate of 91.3 and puts him right amongst the very best Premier League penalty takers.
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