“You can’t miss a penalty like that. You just can’t.”
A Panenka, as we’ve always said, is comfortably the coolest way to convert a penalty. When they work, they look great and having the audacity to even try one takes real balls.
The downside to this, though, is that when they don’t come off, the taker looks… well, a bit silly. We were reminded of this only a week ago, when Nahki Wells scuppered Bristol City’s hopes of a late comeback against Norwich City with his own feeble attempt at one. Wrongly, we thought it would be some time before we saw someone opting for a Panenka in such high pressure circumstances.
Step forward Ademola Lookman…
Having fallen behind to West Ham in stoppage time thanks to Tomáš Souček’s opener, Fulham were handed a lifeline at the London Stadium when David Moyes’ side instantly conceded a penalty.
With the chance to seize a precious point with virtually the last kick of the game, Lookman opted for the Panenka, only for his tame effort to be comfortably saved by Łukasz Fabiański.
Speaking to the BBC after the game, his manager Scott Parker couldn’t hide his anger.
“I’m not going to shirk away from the penalty miss,” Parker said. “I said to Ade I’m disappointed, I’m angry and he is as well.”
He added: “You can miss penalties but you can’t miss penalties like that. You just can’t. If you’re going to take penalties like that, you’ve got to score.
“He knows that. He’s young, he’s a young player and he needs to learn from this tonight.”
"You can't miss a penalty like that. You just can't."
Scott Parker was "angry" 😠 pic.twitter.com/Jhzg6dtRDR
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) November 8, 2020
Fulham are 17th after the loss to West Ham, with only one win to their name since securing their promotion back to the Premier League at the end of last season.
