Cole Palmer’s perfect penalty record – 12 Premier League spot-kicks taken, 12 scored – backed up his “cold” image as a man who delivers under pressure, but that run finally came to an end at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Chelsea were awarded a penalty in the first half when Leicester City defender Rasmus Kristensen dived in on a jinking Jadon Sancho in the box. Sancho fell theatrically but there was clear contact and referee Tim Robinson pointed to the spot.
The Leicester players did their best to delay the kick and put off Palmer. When he eventually stepped up, the Chelsea forward’s strike was well hit and aimed towards the bottom-right corner, but Mads Hermansen got down brilliantly to push the ball safely around the post and keep the game goalless.
Most Premier League penalties scored without ever missing
Yaya Toure 11
Dimitar Berbatov 9
Raul Jimenez 8
Ruben Neves 8
It was the first time Palmer has missed a penalty in his career, having scored 12 for Chelsea and one for England in a friendly last June. The game was 0-0 at half-time.
He held the record for the most Premier League penalties scored without ever missing from the spot, but that record is now returned to Yaya Toure, whose 100 per cent record came from 11 attempts.
Matt Le Tissier could claim to be the best penalty taker in Premier League history, having scored 25 of his 26 attempts. Danny Murphy (18 scored), Callum Wilson (16), James Beattie (16), Julian Dicks (15) and Erling Haaland (15) all have only one miss on their record.
Thierry Henry has the best tally among those who have missed twice, with 23 scored, while Alan Shearer (56) and Frank Lampard (43) are the only Premier League players to have scored more than 40 penalties.
Of those players to have taken at least 20 penalties in the Premier League, Michael Owen (missed seven out of 21), Teddy Sheringham (missed 10 out of 31) and Wayne Rooney (missed 11 out of 34) have the worst records.
