Since PSG’s 5-2 win over Montpellier, there arose a debate about who amongst Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Sergio Ramos should be the club’s first penalty taker. Statistics revealed charting conversion rates from the spot for all four of PSG’s superstars.
Career penalty success rates
Here are the career penalty success rates listed below.
- Mbappe: 80% (20/25)
- Neymar: 87% (71/86)
- Messi: 78% (104/134)
- Ramos: 86% (30/35)
Based on the stats above, it is clear that Neymar and Sergio Ramos are the club’s best penalty takers in Ligue 1. In Neymar’s career, he scored 75 out of 86 penalties making him achieve a penalty conversion rate of 87%.
Sergio Ramos, who has scored many important penalties for Real Madrid in the past, has scored 30 of 35 penalties in his career and is a very reliable player. The legendary defender’s conversion rate is just short of Neymar’s 86%.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi has long been Barcelona’s designated penalty taker. But the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner struggled out of the penalty spot. The Argentinian maestro has 134 possible penalties. Of those, only 104 converted a success rate of just 78%.
Messi also missed a penalty against Real Madrid in the first leg of last year’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16, which ultimately turned out to be costly for PSG.
Kylian Mbappe has the fewest penalties compared to PSG’s other three stars. However, his conversion rate falls short of that of Neymar and Ramos. The French superstar has scored 20 of his 25 penalties, showing an 80% success rate.
Mbappe recently missed a penalty in PSG’s 5-2 win over Montpellier, frustrated after Neymar scored the second penalty of the game (which he scored).
But the stats make it clear that Neymar is the club’s best penalty taker, followed closely by Sergio Ramos. Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi may need to sit out important matches for the Brazilian to helm his PSG.
PSG Manager Christophe Galtier’s Opinions on the Penalty-Taking Hierarchy
“The hierarchy changes depending on who is on the pitch. Kylian number two shooter in this match against Montpellier. Neymar number two shooter in this one. Nothing happened on this penalty [the second penalty], there was a discussion and Neymar felt good [to take it].”
“There can be Messi and Ramos as a shooter as well. There is the preparation for the match and what is decided must be respected. Then there is the situation of the match, and it is up to the players to be smart depending on the situation. The situation of giving a gift to a partner or stepping aside to give him confidence.”
PSG will next face Lille on 21 August in Ligue 1. It will be interesting to see who will mark the spot between Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, and Ramos should the Parisian team score a penalty in this match.
Read More: Nottingham Forest Confirms Signing Morgan Gibbs-White from Wolves, Club-Record Fee Rises To £42.5M