Data and charts courtesy Lee Chunhang.
David de Gea did not want to take that penalty. His face was tense, run-up short, and his kick neither had power or precision. Penalty shoot-outs are challenging for the takers; downright cruel for a goalkeeper who hasn’t effectively saved a penalty in five years, is enduring a disaster of a penalty shoot-out himself, and now has to score to keep his team breathing in a European final.
This 2007 study by the Journal of Sport Sciences discovered that stress and anxiety have more influence in penalty-kick conversion than human agency. From recent memory, there are enough examples of elite footballers fluffing their lines: Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, Andrea Pirlo, David Beckham, Roberto Baggio. You get the drift.
De Gea kicked, Geronimo Rulli saved, and Villareal erupted. Manchester United’s season, promising rosy hues at kick-off that evening, was now shrouded in disappointment. The Europa League could have provided a coat of shiny paint to a season that could never properly take off.
But what if United wrapped up the penalty shoot-out before it came down to David de Gea’s kick?