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Taking a penalty is considered as one of the easiest things to do in football. However, the facts and statistics says otherwise. Even some of the best footballers in the world like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have missed a lot of important penalties in their respective careers and their conversion rate is well below others in comparison.
Taking spot-kicks is a skill and no matter how good a goalscorer you may be in open play, it does not make you an expert here. Nowadays, teams have designated spot-kick takers and it takes practice and persistence to master the art itself.
More than that, anxiety can often become a factor and how well players manage to cope with their nerves is a good barometer of whether they'll be successful from the spot.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the world's best from the spot right now.
Note: All statistics taken from TransferMarkt.
#5: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United)
Coversion Percentage: 87.34%
The legendary striker asserted himself as one of the all-time greats during an illustrious career, which still is yet to be completed. Featuring for world-class sides such as Barcelona, Juventus, PSG and the two Milan rivals, Ibrahimovic has scored goals everywhere across Europe. Only the aforementioned Messi and Ronaldo can boast a more impressive goal-scoring record at a continuous rate.
In his professional career to date, Zlatan has stepped up to take 79 spot-kicks. From those, he has only missed on ten occasions and has the world's highest conversion rate among players who have attempted 75+ penalties.
Unlike others, he has a tendency to take a short run-up. Looking up before he begins while keeping his eye on the ball, he strikes with power and precision, making it tough for the goalkeeper to predict even if they correctly guess the direction of his effort. This is why he continues to be a goalkeeper's nightmare, especially from close-range.
#4 Leighton Baines (Everton)
Conversion Percentage: 89.28%
Everton left-back Leighton Baines is one of the Premier League's best spot-kick takers in history. Currently 10th in the all-time list across the division since its inception, Baines has netted 25 goals from the spot in his professional career.
Only three goalkeepers have denied him - Shay Given, Petr Cech and most recently, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.
Playing against some of the league's best goalkeepers, Baines has said that keeping things simple is the key to success.
When asked about the technique he adopts when taking penalties, he said: "I just clear my mind, decide where I'm going to aim, stay calm, focus and hope it goes in."
He doesn't practice much but interestingly focuses more on where to place his efforts, as opposed to applying brute power on shots, which have a higher chance of being wild and inaccurate.
#3 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Conversion Percentage: 91.89%
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski has been in stunning form since his contentious decision to leave Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund three years ago - netting 24 penalties from his 27 attempted.
In his career thus far, he has scored 34 from 37 spot-kicks and hasn't missed one in over three years. The only goalkeeper to deny the Polish forward in Germany as well as Champions League competition is current team-mate Manuel Neuer, who is widely regarded as the world's best goalkeeper.
As for his technique, Lewandowski keeps his eyes fixed on the goalkeeper and crucially, slows down just before hitting the ball. This gives him a split-second to judge where the 'keeper is going to dive, by which time, he would've already decided which corner to aim for.
Considering the quality of goalkeepers that he has regularly played against, it's fair to argue that he's the best despite not having the highest conversion rate currently.
#2 Fabinho (AS Monaco)
Conversion Percentage: 94.44%
Monaco defensive midfielder Fabinho surprisingly has the second best conversion ratio from spot-kicks. With 18 attempts in his career so far, he's only missed one.
His first miss was during Monaco's Champions League last-16 win over Borussia Dortmund in April earlier this year, when Roman Burki reacted quickly to deny his effort from giving the Ligue 1 champions an unassailable lead at the time.
Equipped with a lethal right foot and never predictable from the spot, Fabinho is unafraid to go down the middle but can find either corner with seeming ease too. Rarely showing any signs of nerves, he uses a more traditional run-up and shoot approach as opposed to stuttering, which puts the goalkeeper off.
At the age of 24, he could easily write himself in the history books if he continues to impress with consistency from the spot in future.
#1 Jonas (Benfica)
Conversion Percentage: 96.42%
The 33-year-old Benfica forward is an expert when it comes to taking penalties, having fooled some of the world's best, including Íker Casillas from the spot.
With one of the calmest heads in the game, his thunderous right foot is dangerous and he's able to strike the ball with both power and precision to devastating effect.
He takes the number one spot in this list as the world's best from the spot, with his fantastic conversion rate. 28 penalties taken, Jonas has only missed one in his career thus far - Valencia's Daniel Lopar was the 'keeper in question, during a UEFA Europa League clash in November 2013.
After that miss, Jonas hasn't failed to score from the spot since and is currently on a 17-goal streak as he continues to impress with regular goalscoring exploits in Portugal and across European competition.
