Top Ten Worst Panenka Misses in Football History (Ranked)
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Top Ten Worst Panenka Misses in Football History (Ranked)

The 2025/2026 season, also known as 'The Year of the Worst Penalty Attempts. ' We have already been treated to a host of horrific efforts from the spot as we have only just entered the second half of the season. Long gone are the days of hitting and hoping, as players would now much rather embarrass themselves from 12 yards out. We have attempted to rank the worst Panenka attempts, incorporating both present and past disasters.


10 - Danny Welbeck - Brighton & Hove Albion


We are cutting Welbeck some slack here, as the Englishman has been finding the back of the net for Brighton often this season. His penalty attempt against West Ham United was far from pretty, but what really put the nail in the coffin was the air kick rebound. The two sides were level at 1 apiece midway through the first half, Welbeck having already got on the scoresheet for the visitors. You can understand why the confidence was high for the striker , and it seemed inevitable that he would add to his tally as the Seagulls were awarded a penalty. Welbeck stepped up, and the rest was far from history...



9 - Sergio Aguero - Manchester City


Even the greats can have their howlers , and this penalty attempt by Aguero was nothing but a comedy act. In the context of the game, Manchester City were leading Chelsea by a goal to nil, knowing that victory would ensure a third Premier League title in four seasons. The home side were awarded a penalty on the brink of half-time with an opportunity to go into the break with a comfortable advantage. Aguero stepped up and may have produced one of the funniest images in Premier League history. Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy held out his palm and parried the ball down before continuing with the game. Certainly an 'AGUER-NO' moment if we've ever seen one.



8 - Rayan Cherki - Lyon


Ah, these keep on getting worse. Cherki is known for being quite the showman, but this act was far from cinema-worthy. The Frenchman was given the honor of the deciding penalty against Arsenal in the Dubai Super Cup, with nothing but pride up for grabs as his side had been defeated 3-0 over the 90 minutes. That in mind, Cherki saw this as an opportunity to play for the cameras but instead made a complete fool of himself as his Panenka penalty was saved by Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein. It's the type of penalty that you'd never want to watch again and is well deserving of a place on this list.



7 - Bukayo Saka - Arsenal


F it, I'm Bukayo Saka comes to mind on this occasion. Arsenal traveled to the Santiago Bernabéu to face Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal with a 3-0 advantage to their name. Los Blancos had established a reputation for staging remarkable comebacks in this competition, so you'd think that Arsenal would take a cautious approach coming into this game. Having been awarded a penalty early in the first half, Saka had the perfect opportunity to put the game to bed and had proven to be reliable from the spot in recent times. The Englishman had the cheek to try a Panenka attempt against Thibaut Courtois and paid the price of seeing his tame effort saved by the goalkeeper. The Belgian shot-stopper guessed right and palmed his attempt out to safety, before the Real Madrid players surrounded Saka to show their lack of appreciation for his antics. It was the Arsenal forward who was to have the last laugh, though, as he later got on the scoresheet and helped his side progress to the next round.



6 - Javier Hernandez - LA Galaxy


Another Premier League great, Chicharito had his fair share of glory days in Manchester United colors . He later took his talents to the MLS, where he would become a fan favorite at LA Galaxy, but this was truly a moment to forget. Having already scored a brace in the game with the score tied at 2-2, the hosts were awarded a spot kick deep into stoppage time. With confidence flowing through his veins, Hernandez stepped up and saw his Panenka attempt saved in the center of the goal. The execution was anything but flawless, with little to no power and clearly telegraphed that even I could see what he was going to do. Hernandez raised a joyful apology to the crowd, but it is hard to think they saw the funny side of that attempt in the moment.



5 - Enzo Le Fee - Sunderland


An opportunity to draw your side level away from home against a goalkeeper known for his penalty-saving ability - yeah, a Panenka attempt sounds good here. What on earth was Le Fee thinking? The Frenchman had already scored two penalties for Sunderland this season, one coming against Brentford in the reverse fixture. The Bees have made the Gtech Community Stadium a fortress, and when Sunderland were given the golden opportunity to draw level, it was not something that could just be thrown away. Le Fee stepped up with a confident look on his face, before passing the ball to Caoimhin Kelleher in the Brentford net. The Irishman even gave a thumbs up as a sign of his gratitude, as his side would go on to cruise to a 3-0 victory. Top ten respect moments in football history have a new contender.


4 - Jonathan David - Juventus


This one is inexcusable. Safe to say that Jonathan David has not had the best start to life in a Juventus shirt , and what better way to win over the fans than with a poor excuse for a penalty attempt on home soil ? To his credit, he has some nerve to attempt a Panenka while on a goal drought , truly taking his nickname of 'The Iceman' to another level. Juventus were level with relegation-threatened Lecce before being awarded a penalty midway through the second half. The Canadian was given the honors , and he repaid the faith by hardly getting the ball off the ground. Despite the Italian giants signing him as a free agent, they may be asking for their money back after that one.



3 - Yann Kermorgant - Leicester City


No time like the Championship play-off semi-final for a moment of stupidity. Leicester and Cardiff had battled it out over two legs for a prize of Wembley up for grabs , and the game was to be decided by a penalty shootout. Kermorgant was amongst the allocated penalty takers for Leicester and stepped up with Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall to beat. The Frenchman played it cool, too cool, and his Panenka effort was saved in the center of the goal. To add salt to the wound, Cardiff would go on to win the shootout and advance to the final. The Bluebirds failed to put the cherry on the icing as they lost out to Blackpool by three goals to two, not that the Leicester faithful would've taken much compensation from this outcome.



2 - Ademola Lookman - Fulham


Old but Gold. Lookman has established himself as a world-class talent out in Italy, but it's safe to say that his tenure in the Premier League was far from successful. His Panenka attempt will never be forgotten, and by no means in a good way. In the 95th minute, 1-0 down away at West Ham, Fulham were awarded a last-gasp penalty, and Lookman was given the honors . Having joined the club on a season-long loan in late September, he was given the perfect opportunity to establish himself as a fan favorite . Lookman stepped up and, quite impressively, made greater contact with the ground than he did with the ball. To make matters worse, manager Scott Parker did not hold back with his frustrations in the press, stating he was disappointed and angry with the attempt by the young attacker. Since then, former Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini has regarded Lookman as ' one of the worst penalty takers he has ever seen' ; safe to say nothing has changed on that part.



1 - Bersant Celina - Swansea


Quite comfortably the worst penalty I have ever seen , and that takes some doing on this list. Swansea was provided the opportunity to level the scoring away at West Brom and was without regular penalty taker Oli McBurnie . Celina took the responsibility from 12 yards and managed to hit his attempt sideways, not literally. In his defense , the standing foot seemed to slip on approach, but it doesn't take away from the comedy gold of failing to reach the goal from the penalty spot. West Brom's midfielder let him know about it as well, and it's safe to say that words of encouragement were certainly not being shared by the Baggies captain.



Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Ryan Duggan

Writer and Content Creator

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