Joselu addressing penalty issue but not fully

The outstanding play of Jude Bellingham, who has 17 goals in 22 games at a rate of one goal every 112 minutes, quickly filled the scoring void left by Benzema’s departure, but the Frenchman’s farewell left another unfinished business that seemed insurmountable for Madrid: penalty shots. After receiving the maximum penalty and changing into Aranda, Joselu addressed a portion of the solution. Following three mistakes this season (plus one during the trip) by Rodrygo, Joselu, and Modric, Madrid scored their first penalty of the year against Arandina; however, the case is still pending because the number 14 is not frequently used in lineups.

Very quickly, on the third day of the League, the issue surfaced. Rodrygo missed a penalty kick against Celta, leaving the score at 0-0 (Bellingham’s goal sealed the victory 0–1). He was halted with a powerful stretch by Iván Villar. The moment it was a match would not have been more significant than the error, but Ancelotti’s remarks stoked the controversy. Modric should have taken that penalty, the coach admitted, and he told Valverde so at the time. However, the Brazilian was given it by the Croatian, who has ‘sponsored’ the Brazilian, to the São Paulo player. Interestingly, Carletto had admitted before to the same game that Rodrygo himself.

Penalty problems

Although there was no established order, Vinicius and Valverde were preparing to be among the penalty takers alongside Modric, having already missed one in the preseason Clásico.

A few days later, the coach did provide an explanation of his Valdebebas pitcher selection: “It depends on the game.” Vinicius, Joselu, and Modric all throw them quite well, and that would be the order if everyone is well. And it was put into practice a month later when Cuadra Fernández brought up the eleven meters in the Osasuna encounter, which had already resulted in a 4-0 verdict. On the field, Joselu threw it, but Andrés Fernández blocked it. The argument was once more dormant.

Repetition of same incident

Berlin saw its reactivation. Modric took the field, but Joselu was there. He then collided with Rönnow. “Searching for a cause is difficult. Luka typically scores and is chilly. We’re trying with Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius, Joselu, and what can I say?,” Ancelotti said following the Champions League group stage encounter.

Joselu was given another opportunity by the Cup, the competition of opportunities, and he succeeded this time. Following the match, the forward felt upbeat. It will now depend on the players who are in the field. As one of the team’s numerous specialists and highly skilled players, it was my turn today. It’s not an issue; going forward, everyone will enter. But with Joselu playing just 51% of the minutes, Ancelotti will probably need to keep searching for a pitcher.

For Madrid, winning a penalty was equivalent to scoring a goal until recently. A high success rate was seen as three specialists succeeded one another. Ramos scored 95% of his shots (22 of 23), Benzema 86% (32 of 37), and Cristiano 85% (79 of 92) of his shots. Madrid was able to string together 38 shots from eleven meters without missing any of them.

He got 11 out of the next 37 wrong. The impending issues had already surfaced throughout the previous season. The final two that Madrid missed were Asensio versus Mallorca and Modric in the Club World Cup final. Karim did not take them.