Late in NYCFC's 1-0 win over the Chicago Fire,Maxi Moralez stepped up for a penalty to seal the game. The Argentine struck his penalty well and put it on frame, but Fire 'keeper David Ousted was up to the challenge.
It's the latest continuation of a surprising trend early in 2019: Penalties are being scored at their lowest rate since at least 2010, by no small margin.
Since 2012, the league's penalty success rate has hovered between 76-79%, with the sample size as low as 72 penalties taken and as many as 138 attempts. This year, however, the shooters are not off to a great start, converting 70% of their spot kicks.
All stats per Opta:
Season |
PKs scored |
PKs taken |
PK % |
|---|---|---|---|
2010 |
48 |
56 |
85.71% |
2011 |
69 |
84 |
82.14% |
2012 |
57 |
72 |
79.17% |
2013 |
63 |
81 |
77.78% |
2014 |
103 |
134 |
76.87% |
2015 |
84 |
108 |
77.78% |
2016 |
84 |
109 |
77.06% |
2017 |
91 |
119 |
76.47% |
2018 |
109 |
138 |
78.99% |
2019 |
31 |
44 |
70.45% |
Traditionally, penalties are converted at around a 75% clip worldwide.
It's early on, with more than enough time to right the ship, but interesting nonetheless. Maybe a few more penalties from Josef Martinez will bring that rate right back up.
