Real Madrid has only played four penalty shoot-outs in its extensive history in the European Cup. The last one, the one that gave them qualification in the quarterfinals against Manchester City. The kings of the competition have participated in the tournament 54 times, but the times that they have resolved a tie from eleven meters have been very rare. Against Bayern in the semi-finals, extra time was not even reached, so that option was ruled out, but it is not at all ruled out for the final. In this final the starter will be Courtois, but the Belgian is not at all the best in that circumstance, with the numbers in hand; Lunin is, and long.
The Ukrainian goalkeeper already emerged victorious from the penalty shootout at the Etihad, where he stopped the shots of Bernardo Silva and Kovacic (the first, with the help of Kepa, who tipped him off that he usually shot through the center). Lunin credits an extraordinary percentage of saves when facing forwards from eleven meters. Stops 36.8% of the shots from the penalty spot that go between the three posts of their goal.
A success rate that Lunin has both with the match at stake and in the shootouts. In games, Lunin has repelled 8 of the 22 penalties he has faced in his career. Without going further, In this same Champions League he saved a penalty against Álvaro Djaló, brand new signing of Athleticin Real Madrid-Braga from the group stage as soon as the match begins. And in penalty shootouts, after the Etihad one, their success rate rises to 37.5%. He has stopped 6 of 16 shots.
With that of the City, Lunin has emerged victorious from the three penalty shootouts he has played. And he stopped two shots in each of them. In 2016-17, when he was a member of Dnipro, he stopped two of the eight shots in the round of 16 tie of the Ukrainian Cup that his team played on the Desna Chernigiv field. Three seasons later, already on loan from Madrid to Real Valladolid, he also saved two of the three penalties that Marbella took against him in the second round of the Copa del Rey.
Kepa has a lower success rate than Lunin, but has much more experience in penalty shootouts. With Chelsea he has played up to eight, including the controversy he was involved in when he refused to be replaced by his coach, Mauricio Sarri, in the 2019 League Cup final against Manchester City. Kepa saved a penalty, but the skyblues they took the title. Although luck smiled on the Basque: won five of the eight penalty shootouts he faced with the London team. He also won one with the U-19 team in the semifinals of the European category in 2012, when he saved penalties against Umtiti and Kondogbia.
Total, In nine penalty shootouts Kepa has stopped 9 of 46 shots on target, with a save rate of 19.6%. With the game at stake, he appears more confident, as he has saved 7 of 21 penalties (33.3%). Combining both statistics, he has saved 16 of 67 penalties, a 23.9% success rate. Zielinski scored against him this season in Naples in the second game of the group stage.
Of the three goalkeepers that Real Madrid has on its roster, Curiously, the one with the lowest success rate on penalties is Courtois.. The Belgian is close to 20% correct in his face-to-face in the eleven meters. He has saved 2 of the 10 penalties that have been taken against him in shootouts and 12 of the 64 (18.75%) he has faced with the game at stake. In the total count, Courtois has 18.9% saves on penalties throughout his career.
Yes indeed, Madrid has won the two penalty shoot-outs in which the Belgian has defended the white goal. They were first in the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup, last season against Valencia, and in the 2019-20 final against their former team, Atlético de Madrid. He played one with Chelsea and lost it against Arsenal in a Community Shield (2017-18).
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