Vinícius Jr: The Worst Penalty Taker in Real Madrid History
A missed penalty puts Vinícius Jr. in the spotlight at a crucial moment. The Brazilian’s confidence at Real Madrid is more at stake than ever.
Vinícius Jr. is not in his best form. Still, he remains one of the most active players in Real Madrid’s attack, always trying and running hard in every match. This was evident again in the game against Manchester City, although it ended with an unfortunate episode: the Brazilian missed a penalty.
A Gesture of Confidence That Didn’t Pay Off
When the penalty was awarded, Vinícius Jr. offered the ball to Federico Valverde, who already had three goals in the match and had the chance to score a poker. However, it was Valverde himself who declined the opportunity.
The reason was clear: the Uruguayan respects the hierarchy within the team. Vinícius is the club’s second official penalty taker, just behind Kylian Mbappé. Valverde’s gesture also reflected leadership and teamwork, knowing the Brazilian was not in his best moment and thinking that a goal could restore his confidence.
The problem was that Vinícius missed the shot, preventing Real Madrid from further extending the lead before the return leg in England, where they will need to close the tie.
An Unfavorable Historical Stat
What worries about Vinícius is not just missing that penalty, but what it represents statistically. With this miss, he has now failed 4 out of 14 penalties, leaving his success rate at 71.4%. This makes him the worst penalty taker in Real Madrid history among players with a significant number of attempts.
This surpasses the record of Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy, who converted 11 out of 15 penalties, with a 73.3% success rate.
A Season Far from His Best Version
In general, Vinícius has not been comfortable from the penalty spot. Throughout his career, he has missed six penalties: two in the Champions League, two in La Liga, one in qualifiers, and one in a friendly match.
There is one positive stat for him: only once has his team lost a match in which he missed a penalty. In other words, his errors from the spot rarely cost Real Madrid points.
Overall, Vinícius is not having his best season. Of the 13 goals he has scored so far, only three have come in the Champions League, and he is not being the decisive player who was recently considered a contender for the Ballon d’Or.
The Brazilian needs to regain confidence. Valverde understood this and gave him the chance to do so from the penalty spot, but unfortunately, Vinícius couldn’t take advantage.
For now, the stats are clear: Vini is the least effective penalty taker in Real Madrid’s history.
