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Only two goalkeepers have saved penalties against both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the highest scorers in football history but two goalkeepers got the better of them both from the penalty spot.

Portugal progressed to the last eight of Euro 2024 with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Slovenia but it was Ronaldo who stole the headlines after breaking down in tears during extra-time.

Ronaldo was denied from the spot by Jan Oblak but confidently stepped up in the shoot-out to make amends for his earlier miss.

As always, the Al Nassr star is always compared to Messi given their status as two of the greatest players in football history and their penalty record is no different.

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On the international stage, Messi boasts a penalty conversion rate of 82.8 per cent after converting 24 out of 29, while Ronaldo has recorded a success rate of 71.4%, scoring 20 out of 28.

The former Barcelona man also knows the pain of missing a spot kick against Oblak after the Atletico Madrid man kept out his penalty in the Copa del Rey quarter-final in 2015.

Oblak smartly read his run up to deny him from 12 yards but Messi had the last laugh with the rebound falling for the Argentine to smash home. Prior to his miss on Monday night, Ronaldo had a perfect record against Oblak, scoring on three other occasions.

That is not the case for the only other goalkeeper to deny both Messi and Ronaldo from the spot – with Ronaldo missing three out of the four he took against his bogey goalkeeper.

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Ronaldo’s nemesis was former Valencia shot-stopper Diego Alves. The Brazilian saved a Ronaldo penalty in his debut season, and again in 2015 as well as 2017. Alves is responsible for saving 10% of Ronaldo’s missed penalties in his entire career.

The Portuguese isn’t the only one to suffer against Alves though, with Messi also failing to beat him from the spot. Alves denied the legendary forward in the 2012 Copa del Rey semi-final but again had the last laugh, knocking Valencia out before hammering Athletic Bilbao in the final.

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Georgina Rodríguez Formally Adopts Husband Cristiano Ronaldo’s Three Older Children

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Georgina Rodríguez has initiated legal proceedings to formally adopt her husband, football star Cristiano Ronaldo’s, three older children.

The step comes shortly after the couple officially tied the knot in a private wedding ceremony.

According to reports from Portuguese media, Rodríguez is completing the necessary legal paperwork out of the public eye to be officially recognized as the mother of the children.

Before the couple began their relationship in 2016, Ronaldo welcomed his first son, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr., in 2010, followed by twins Eva Maria and Mateo in June 2017.

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Rodríguez later gave birth to their first shared biological child, Alana Martina, in late 2017, and their daughter Bella Esmeralda in 2022. She has long maintained a close relationship with all the children, raising them alongside her own.

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Premier League: Brentford Humble Tottenham, Everton, Leeds, Ipswich Start With Wins

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Big-spending Tottenham Hotspur made a nightmare start to the new Premier League season after Brentford swept them aside in a convincing 3-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium earlier today, August 22.

Spurs, who spent about £237 million this summer and broke their transfer record twice in a bid to avoid a repeat of last season’s struggles, handed debuts to four new signings in west London. Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke and club-record £100m signing Sandro Tonali all started.

However, Brentford tore through Roberto De Zerbi’s side from the opening stages.

Keane Lewis-Potter gave the home side the lead in the 12th minute after Mamadou Sangare picked him out unmarked inside the area. Brentford’s club-record summer signing continued to impress as the hosts controlled the match.

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The Bees doubled their advantage in the 33rd minute when Vitaly Janelt tapped home after Antonin Kinsky had saved Mathias Jensen’s effort.

Tottenham failed to register a shot on target in the first half, prompting De Zerbi to make a double change in the second half. He introduced £85m signing Mateus Fernandes and Rodrigo Bentancur for Conor Gallagher and Lucas Bergvall.

The changes failed to alter the pattern of the game as Michael Kayode added Brentford’s third after Sangare’s effort fell into his path following a save by Kinsky.

Brentford almost made it four when Michael Oliver awarded a penalty for Bentancur’s foul on Kevin Schade. Igor Thiago, however, struck the post from the spot.

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Earlier in the day, Everton recovered from an early scare to beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, securing their first opening-day Premier League win in five years.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Thierno Barry scored either side of half-time to give David Moyes’ side their earliest win in a new campaign since August 2021. The win also ended a seven-match winless run from the end of last season.

Crystal Palace began life under new manager Pierre Sage without last season’s top scorer Ismaila Sarr, who missed the travelling squad amid links with Galatasaray.

The visitors created early chances through Eddie Nketiah and Jean-Philippe Mateta, while both players later struck the woodwork.

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Everton made Palace pay three minutes before half-time when Dewsbury-Hall fired into the far corner. Barry doubled the lead eight minutes after the restart, heading in Iliman Ndiaye’s cross from close range.

Palace’s difficult afternoon worsened when defender Chadi Riad left the pitch on a stretcher with an apparent serious knee injury.

At the City Ground, Oliver Glasner’s reign as Nottingham Forest manager began with a 1-0 defeat to Leeds United.

Anton Stach scored the decisive goal directly from a free-kick with two minutes remaining after Nikola Milenkovic fouled him.

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The match remained finely balanced for much of the afternoon, with set-pieces creating most of the danger. Harry Wilson had a Leeds goal ruled out for offside, while Forest defender Jair Cunha hit the post before half-time.

Igor Jesus headed wide for the hosts after the break, while Matz Sels denied Tarik Muharemovic as Leeds pushed for a breakthrough.

Stach finally delivered it in the closing stages, beating Sels at the near post to give Leeds a winning start to the campaign and hand Glasner a painful opening defeat.

Ipswich Town also celebrated a winning return to the Premier League as substitute Jack Clarke struck a 90th-minute winner against his former club Sunderland at Portman Road.

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Ipswich took the lead in the 24th minute when Julio Enciso intercepted a pass, carried the ball forward and squared for summer signing Emersonn to score.

Sunderland hit back six minutes before half-time through Nilson Angulo, whose curling free-kick struck the crossbar before going in.

With the game heading towards a draw, former Sunderland winger Clarke curled the ball into the far bottom corner to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory for Ipswich.

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Arsenal slam Coventry 3-0 in premier league’s first game

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Arsenal hammered Coventry City 3-0 in the first game of this Premier League season on Friday night.

The Gunners have begun the defence of their title with maximum points at the Emirates.

First-half goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka put the reigning champions firmly in control, and captain Martin Odegaard added a third soon after the restart to seal a comfortable win on the opening day of the campaign.

Arsenal were without their new signing Bruno Guimaraes because of an injury, but another of the summer arrivals, Christos Tzolis, had provided the early spark, cutting in from the left before curling a shot over five minutes in.

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The Greek winger also played a part in Arsenal’s opener, but it was a familiar face who found the breakthrough, as Havertz, starting ahead of Viktor Gyokeres, turned in Riccardo Calafiori’s low cross after 15 minutes.

It was 2-0 eight minutes later when Coventry goalkeeper Carl Rushworth could only palm Tzolis’ low delivery into the feet of Saka and the England international fired into the unguarded goal.

Odegaard added a third four minutes into the second half, receiving a pass from Ben White and beating Rushworth, albeit with a scuffed finish.

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