Concerns grow at Real Madrid over poor penalty record as worrying trend emerges | OneFootball

On Wednesday night, Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Al-Hilal in the FIFA Club World Cup in their first match under new manager Xabi Alonso.

Things could have been much different for Los Blancos, though, as they had an excellent chance to win the game when they were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.

However, Federico Valverde, captain on the day, failed to convert from the spot, meaning the spoils were shared between the two teams.

Real Madrid concerned over penalty situation

Now, according to MARCA, there is a growing concern at Real Madrid over their poor penalty conversion rate in the recent past.

After all, the Spanish giants have one of the worst penalty conversion rates among clubs in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

The problem is not winning them – the club has earned more penalties across all competitions this season than any other team in the top five European leagues – but converting them.

Following Valverde’s miss against Al-Hilal, Real Madrid have failed to score seven out of their 19 penalties. No team has missed more.

A key concern is the variety of players responsible for these misses. The seven failed attempts have been shared between Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr., Jude Bellingham, and the aforementioned Valverde.

This figure does not even include penalty shootouts, where Lucas Vazquez also missed against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

Fede Valverde failed to convert his penalty vs Al-Hilal. (Photo by Sandra Montanez/Getty Images)

These statistics are worrying, particularly because several of the misses have had real consequences. Two of Mbappe’s three misses were costly – vs Athletic Club and Liverpool, where his failed penalties could have levelled matches that were ultimately lost.

Vinicius missed against Atletico in the Champions League, preventing the team from avoiding a shootout. Valverde’s miss cost the opportunity to start the Club World Cup with a win.

Comparison

Comparing with other clubs illustrates the scale of the problem. Among those with a high number of attempts, Inter Milan have missed three of 17, Bayern Munich one of 16, and Borussia Dortmund two of 15.

Only Manchester City and Arsenal come close to Real Madrid’s numbers, with four misses each – but even they do not match the Merengues’ volume of attempts or failure rate.

In terms of conversion rate, Real Madrid have a 63% success rate. Among Europe’s elite, only Arsenal have a worse percentage (50%, four from eight).

Among clubs with at least ten penalties taken this season, Aston Villa and Atalanta also fall short, both with a 60% success rate.

This issue is not new. It extends beyond the current season. Last campaign, Real Madrid missed four out of nine penalties – nearly half. It is now on manager Xabi Alonso to ensure that the problem is addressed.