There's something quite ironic about a football team, one jam-packed with world class players that regular tops the scoring charts, that struggles to convert unopposed shots from 12 yards.
Manchester City are incredible at a lot of things, but the penalty kick seemingly isn't one of them. On Tuesday night Pep Guardiola's side secured top spot in their Champions League group with a goalless draw away at Borussia Dortmund. The point ensures that they will be one of the seeded teams in the draw for the last 16, in theory giving them a favourable match-up against a group runner-up.
It wasn't plain sailing though; for the second consecutive European match City drew 0-0 in a game which they didn't play brilliantly in, but that they could have easily won had they converted what should be one of the easiest scoring opportunities in the sport.
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As was the case in Copenhagen a fortnight ago, Riyad Mahrez saw a poor spot-kick saved, an error that gave the opponent fresh impetus and belief that they could win. On both occasions it mattered little, but for Guardiola the worry is that City's Achilles heel could snap and cost them in a more important game.
"I don’t know how many millions of penalties we’ve missed," Pep said after the match in Dortmund. Of course he did though - such a crucial detail of the game would never escape a manager of his reputation.
"Of course it’s a problem, since I was here we miss 25 penalties, most in the Champions League. It’s not good enough. Always I admire the courage to take responsibility to do it but it’s a problem, we miss a lot of penalties."
The signing of Erling Haaland appeared to have solved the issue; the 22-year-old striker has scored 22 goals in 15 games for City, two of which have been emphatically-struck spot-kicks. Haaland is pretty much a nailed-on starter at this point, but the last two times City have missed penalties he has not been on the pitch.
Given his record from the spot, Mahrez was the obvious candidate to deputise. After blazing his first City penalty over the crossbar in a goalless draw against Liverpool in October 2018, the Algerian winger converted nine penalties in a row, the last in that run coming against Tottenham in February this year.
He has missed three of his four attempts since then, with Guardiola saying the attacker will take a 'break' from penalty duties.
Other potential takers include Kevin De Bruyne (seven of nine converted, 78% conversion rate) and Ilkay Gundogan (four of six converted, 67% conversion rate), although both have missed efforts in important games, both against Liverpool.
City have not had a regular penalty taker since Sergio Aguero's game-time began to wain, but even he was less than reliable. The striker converted 20 of his 28 attempts.
The question is who will take the responsibility the next time City are awarded a penalty when Haaland is not on the pitch? A couple of years ago Guardiola joked that Ederson would step up, and honestly, that wouldn't be the worst option.
In reality, De Bruyne and Gundogan seem the most likely. Hopefully Haaland will be around next time, otherwise the mystery of City and penalties could go on.
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