Sports

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

Published

6 months ago

July 3, 2024

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.

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.

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.

Sports

Arsenal’s top coach not happy over Bukayo Saka’s injury

Published

2 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Naijablitznews

Arsenal’s coach Mikel Arteta admitted he was “pretty worried” over an injury suffered by star winger Bukayo Saka in Saturday’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace.

Saka, who was forced off midway through the first half, was seen on crutches leaving Selhurst Park after a game which saw the Gunners move to within three points of Premier League leaders Liverpool.

“He (Saka) felt something in his hamstring,” Arteta said.

“He couldn’t continue. He will have to be assessed, so I’m pretty worried about that one.

“It’s very difficult to give a prognosis now. They have tested him inside but it’s very difficult to say how bad it is.”

He added: “Unfortunately with the amount of games that we are playing, every three days with this schedule, it doesn’t surprise me, but the team will react to that.”

Arsenal next face struggling Ipswich on Friday, Brentford on New Year’s Day and Brighton just three days later in the holiday fixture programme.

Sports

JUST IN: Oleksandr Usyk defeats Tyson Fury in rematch to retain his unified heavyweight world titles

Published

8 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Austin Ojomah

Having inflicted a first career defeat on Briton Fury by split decision in May, Usyk’s astuteness and will to win once again prevailed at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena – and he retained his WBA (Super), WBC and WBO titles.

These prove his status as a generational great with another close points win in their rematch in Saudi Arabia.

Fury, 36, found success in the first half of the fight. Some of the more eye-catching shots came from the Morecambe fighter, but the volume of punches and cleaner work were from Ukrainian Usyk.

All three judges scored it 116-112 to the 37-year-old champion.

Usyk, an Olympic gold medallist and former undisputed cruiserweight champion, extended his undefeated record to 23 pro wins.

“He [Tyson Fury] is a great fighter, he is a great opponent. An unbelievable 24 rounds for my career. Thank you so much,” Usyk said.

Two-time world champion Fury has only ever lost to Usyk, his two defeats the major blemishes on a record also consisting of 34 wins and one draw.

Fury left the ring without conducting an interview, before IBF world champion Daniel Dubois climbed in and called for a rematch with Usyk.

A visibly frustrated figure in the moments after the scorecards were read out, Fury said backstage he was convinced he won the fight by “at least three rounds”.