Gimenez Penalty Miss Highlights Milan’s Spot-Kick Struggles
AC Milan’s penalty conversion problems persisted on Sunday as Santiago Gimenez failed to score from the spot during their 2-1 away loss to title contenders Napoli. This latest miss has further reduced the team’s penalty success rate for the season.
The Rossoneri struggled to gain momentum at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with Luka Jovic’s late goal proving insufficient to overcome first-half strikes from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku. The penalty opportunity could have changed the game’s outcome, but it wasn’t to be.
Gimenez’s Missed Opportunity
Gimenez, a €35 million January signing from Feyenoord, has now gone five matches without scoring for Milan. His chance to break this drought came from the penalty spot, but confusion arose when Christian Pulisic, Milan’s regular penalty taker, initially received the ball from Rafael Leao before handing it to Gimenez.
The Mexican international’s attempt lacked both power and precision, making it relatively easy for Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret to save. This miss has contributed to Milan’s poor penalty record this season, with the team now having failed to convert 44.44% of their spot-kicks.
Milan’s Penalty Statistics
Out of nine penalties awarded to Milan this season, only five have been successfully converted. The breakdown of penalty takers is as follows:
- Christian Pulisic: 4 scored out of 5 attempts
- Tammy Abraham: 1 scored out of 2 attempts
- Theo Hernandez: 0 scored out of 1 attempt
- Santiago Gimenez: 0 scored out of 1 attempt
This poor conversion rate is becoming a concern for Milan as they continue to fight for a top-four finish in Serie A.