Ivan Toney joined an elite club in Brentford’s 3-2 Premier League win over Fulham last night. He became only the second player in history to have taken 10 or more Premier League penalties without missing a single one. He’s only ever missed one out of the 29 he has taken in his career (Barnley’s Adam Davies made the save in League One), but it got us thinking, just who else was an expert from the spot?
And which players made you shudder every time they stepped up? We’ve delved into the statistics to bring you the definitive list of best and worst Premier League penalty takers.
The Best
Yaya Toure - 11/11 - 100%
The only other player who has taken 10 or more with a 100% record. Yaya Toure was unflappable from the spot.
Ivan Toney - 10/10 - 100%
He’s only been in the Premier League for two seasons!
Matt Le Tissier - 25/26 - 96%
One of the all-time great penalty takers. But did any of them actually exist or was it all a conspiracy? Spooky.
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Danny Murphy - 18/19 - 95%
Quite the record for Murphy, especially when you consider the calibre of penalty takers he played alongside.
James Beattie - 16/17 - 94%
A spectacular striker with a seriously impressive record from 12 yards.
Julian Dicks - 15/16 - 94%
Just whack it. Without a doubt the best way to take a spot-kick.
Callum Wilson - 12/13 - 92%
Perhaps a surprise name on the list for many. Newcastle United and Bournemouth have reaped the rewards of Callum’s composure from the spot.
Leighton Baines - 20/22 - 91%
The Everton legend was a solid penalty taker across his career.
Frank Leboeuf - 10/11 - 91%
The centre-back turned actor also stepped up to the plate when his side needed him.
Danny Ings - 10/11 - 91%
Ings has missed three of 13 penalties in his career, including one in the League One play-offs, but he is 10/11 in the Premier League.
Gary Speed - 10/11 - 91%
The late great Gary Speed was as good from the spot as he was across the rest of the park. Nigel Martyn was the only top flight keeper to stop one of his efforts, back in 1997.
The Worst
Teddy Sheringham - 21/31 - 68%
So much experience and class. Not so much from the spot.
Riyad Mahrez - 13/19 - 68%
He missed a big one at Anfield, but Pep still trusts Mahrez.
Christian Benteke - 10/15 - 67%
This isn’t surprising.
Wayne Rooney - 23/34 - 67%
He’s taken more Premier League penalties than anyone else on this list. But it’s not a great record for Wayne. He never missed one for England though.
Michael Owen 14/21 - 67%
Owen scored two out of three penalties which doesn’t sound like the worst, but it gives him the eighth lowest conversion rate.
Wilfried Zaha - 7/11 - 64%
Being your team’s best player doesn’t mean you should take the pens.
Paul Pogba - 7/11 - 64%
Pogba loved a stuttered run-up. Just a shame he missed four out of 11 when doing so.
Aleksandar Mitrovic - 7/11 - 64%
Another modern entry. Mitro also missed the penalty that sent Scotland to Euro 2020.
Kevin Phillips - 11/18 - 61%
This one is baffling! Beattie may have been the expert, but Phillips was poor.
Steed Malbranque - 6/10 - 60%
We're not sure why Malbranque took 10 Premier League penalties.
Dwight Yorke - 6/10 - 60%
Yorke proves that even the best strikers don’t always make good penalty takers.
Juan Pablo Angel - 5/10 - 50%
Juan Pablo was anything but an Angel from 12 yards.
