Icardi repeats Arsenal Invincibles’ penalty fail

27th Sep 2023 | Source: BBC

Akturkoglu rolled the ball to his left for Icardi to run on to

Galatasaray forward Mauro Icardi recreated Thierry Henry and Robert Pires' infamous penalty miss in the Turkish Super Lig on Tuesday.

Icardi side-footed the ball wide after Kerem Akturkoglu played a short pass to the Argentine from the spot-kick.

That was despite having an open net to aim for as the Istanbulspor goalkeeper had already dived the wrong way.

Fans on social media compared it to Arsenal 'Invincibles' duo Henry and Pires' similar attempt in 2005.

The ball got stuck under Pires' feet as he tried to play a short pass for fellow Frenchman Henry against Manchester City at Highbury.

Former Barcelona pair Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi were successful in pulling off the same penalty trick against Celta Vigo in 2016, with Suarez sealing a hat-trick as Messi rolled his penalty kick to the right for the Uruguayan to slot in.

Despite being left red-faced from the miss, Icardi redeemed himself with a goal five minutes later as Galatasaray secured a 1-0 victory against Istanbulspor.

The win moves them to the top of the Super Lig, a point above Fenerbahce who have a game in hand.