Hutchison was unimpressed with the penalty attempts
Former Liverpool midfielder Don Hutchison has lamented the penalty techniques of Manchester United‘s Bruno Fernandes and Chelsea‘s Jorginho. Both players missed spot-kicks for their respective sides in the Premier League this weekend.
Fernandes was tasked with taking United’s spot-kick against Arsenal on 23 April, with the Red Devils trailing the Gunners 2-1 at that point. Cristiano Ronaldo is the usual penalty-kick taker for Manchester United. However, he did not feel fit to take it, according to interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Fernandes stepped up and made his usual jittery run towards the ball before placing a poor strike against the post. His side went on to lose the game 3-1.
Jorginho’s effort against West Ham United was perhaps even worse as the Italian approached the ball in a similar manner to Fernandes. He was tasked with the penalty after Romelu Lukaku was fouled in the box by Craig Dawson, who was sent off. The match, being played no 24 April, was delicately poised at 0-0 at that point.
The Italian midfielder struck the ball so tamely that West Ham United goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was able to gather the ball.
Luckily for Jorginho, Christian Pulisic scored the winner in the dying embers of the game, sparing the Italian’s blushes as Chelsea beat West Ham 1-0.
Hutchison has taken issue with the way in which both players took their spot-kicks. He questioned why you would approach the penalty in such a way, tweeting:
“Hahahahahahahaha the state of Bruno pen and now Jorginho pen. Why make a hard thing even harder with stupid run ups?”
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Chelsea’s Jorginho have a decent record at penalties
The Chelsea and Manchester United midfielders aren’t the only ones with a questionable run up
To be fair to both Bruno Fernandes and Jorginho, they have had success when taking spot-kicks in the past.
Fernandes was renowned for his consistent goals from the spot, having scored 13 of 16 penalties taken during his time in the Premier League. Similarly, Jorginho has a record of 17 penalties scored out of 20 in the competition.
There is evidence that the mystique around the technique works as it confuses the goalkeeper.
But when it goes wrong, the results are disastrous.
One player who also takes penalties in a similar fashion is Fernandes’ Manchester United teammate Paul Pogba. He takes a much longer time when approaching the ball as his starting position is much further away from the ball.
As times have changed, so too have players’ approaches in dead-ball situations.
Chelsea fans are used to usually seeing Jorginho dispatch a penalty in the approach he takes. However, many perhaps assert his style of penalty with trying to perhaps be “showy” and unique.
Given the success both Fernandes and Jorginho have had in the past, it’s clear to see why they still believe the technique works. However, when it doesn’t work, it’s calamitous.
