In a section often described as a game of chance, there is a place for psychology and technique
Penalties are a game of chance, as is often said. Any side could win it. That is of course true.
But elements like technique and mental strength also play a huge part, which is why top teams work constantly on penalties, especially before a big game. Both Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain would have worked very hard on penalties in the days leading up to this game, knowing full well that the tie could get to spotkicks.
Here keeping your head is important, but so is the technique. Let’s analyse a few details worth observing in Saturday’s Champions League final in Budapest.
First, the part of chance. Achraf Hakimi won both coin tosses at the start of the shootout, meaning that he got to choose which end the penalty is played and who gets to go first.
Hakimi chose the end of the pitch that had PSG supporters and for PSG to go first. What this meant was that Arsenal’s shooters would have to take the long walk under maximum pressure towards the opposing fans. PSG playing first also meant that Arsenal would be under slightly more pressure to convert every time.
Then the shootout itself. This is where holding your nerve and getting the technique right matter so much.
What is immediately noticeable here is that Arsenal goalie David Raya was a lot more performative than his counterpart. This is essentially the difference between the classic and modern goalkeeping styles. In the classic style, goalkeepers walk to the line and focus on trying to make a save. Some more modern goalkeepers now throw in some actions to make the player taking the penalty lose his nerve.
Raya tried various things, like rousing Arsenal fans, or walking over to the player to hand him the ball and try to throw him off.
The penalties were of a very high standard, Eberechi Eze the first to miss. Eze had previously played 10 penalties in his career, scoring 8 and missing 2. Three of those scored were in the top flight, as opposed to just one miss for Crystal palace. So he generally has high level technique, even if he has preferred the much-maligned stuttering style.
Here the stutter was not too slow. The idea is to throw the goalkeeper off, since he generally has to move quickly if he is to catch the ball. If the goalkeeper moves too slowly, he will fail to make a save even if he guesses the correct direction.
The stutter is designed to force him to commit, then the shooter, who is generally able to switch directions faster, can hit the ball the other way.
Here Eze fooled Matvei Safonov, but he hit the ball too wide and it went the other side of the post. Other than the slightly inaccurate angle it was great technique.
The stutter technique is generally disliked by observers who worry that it puts too much pressure on the player, and believe the shooter is better off using the traditional method: choosing a spot and keeping it in mind, avoiding the goalkeeper’s gaze, staring straight ahead and downwards to avoid giving away your choice, then the classic runup, and then hitting it as hard and well as you can.
Eze did not lose because of the stutter. It’s worth noting that the other two players who missed on the night followed the classic runup.
Basic goalkeeping tactic during penalties is to go to your left if a left footer is taking it. Generally, it is slightly easier to get your technique correctly if you go in this direction as a left footer. Both Raya and Safonov went in this direction when Nuno Mendes and Gabriel Magalhaes, both left-footed, took their penalties.
Mendes looks like he wants to play towards the top corner, which would generally mean a goal, but at the same time he is eager to avoid the risk of the ball sailing over the bar. It would be much better to go very high up or very low. Instead he ends up playing mid-height and Raya, who guessed correctly, could save.
Gabriel also wants to find the top corner, a similar penalty to the one Gabriel Martinelli had just played in the last round but, as a left footer, he prefers shooting towards his stronger right side.
But while Mendes hit his way too low, Gabriel hit his way too high…
And it sailed over the bar…
Both players had the right idea, but they got the technique wrong.
In shootouts, these technical mistakes can mean the difference between glory and a night that will remain painful in the player’s memory, probably for the rest of their life. Gabriel will never forget that miss. It will haunt him for decades.
