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Updated September 27th, 2021 at 20:28 IST

When Cristiano Ronaldo gave perfect reply to goalkeeper's mind games during penalty; WATCH

During Cristiano Ronaldo's time at Juventus when the Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin asked Ronaldo whether he will shoot down the middle again.

Reported by: Prithvi Virmani
Manchester United
Image: AP | Image:self
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As Manchester United lost to Aston Villa 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday, everyone witnessed Bruno Fernandes blast the ball way over the crossbar from 12 yards out after they were awarded a spot-kick in the 93rd minute of the game. Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was seen asking Cristiano Ronaldo to take the penalty which looked like a taunt towards Bruno Fernandes as he was getting ready to take it and it seems that it might have gotten to Bruno's head. It is fair to note that Ronaldo has been taunted by several goalkeepers, take a look at a video from the five-time Ballon d'Or winners time at Juventus when the Genoa goalkeeper Mattia Perin asked Ronaldo whether he will shoot down the middle again but of course, the cool head of Cristiano Ronaldo prevailed and he scored right down the middle of the goal exactly where Perin had taunted him, as he ran to celebrate the Portuguese superstar then mocked the Genoa keeper by saying "Where Perin?".

That match ended with Juventus winning 3-1, thanks to two goals from the spot by Cristiano Ronaldo. He has an excellent record from 12 yards out having managed to score 139 penalties out of 167 in his career and missed only 28. That is more than an 80% success rate.

Ole on who will take penalties

After the match against Villa was over, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer spoke to the press saying that Fernandes could stay on spot-kick duty over Cristiano even after the huge miss from the midfielder. He said:

You will be making all these assumptions now on the reaction of players. Bruno has been excellent, he’s such a good penalty taker. Today, you’d back him with your mortgage, I’d guess. As I said, Bruno has been excellent, and Cristiano is the one who has scored the most penalties in world football. We’ve got great takers here. It’s just a missed opportunity for us to get a point.

It should be said that before the miss, Fernandes has taken several penalties for Man United and only missed two. On the other hand, there is Ronaldo who also has an exceptional spot-kick record. It is up to Ole to decide who will be taking the shots from 12 yards out.

(Image: AP)

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Published September 27th, 2021 at 20:28 IST

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