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Penalties can play a key role in deciding the fate of games and title races, especially in a league as competitive as the Premier League.
Although the odds are stacked against the goalkeeper, penalty takers need incredible composure, calmness and presence of mind to score from the spot.
Over the years, there have been a few world-class nerveless penalty-takers who have graced the Premier League. Even among the current crop, there are players who have developed a reputation for being cool and proficient from the spot.
On that note, here's a look at the five players with the most Premier League penalties in a calendar year:
#5 Luka Milivojevic - 8 Premier League penalties (2018, 2019)
Luka Milivojevic is one of four players to score eight Premier League penalties in a calendar year. Among the quartet, the Serb is the only one to accomplish the feat twice.
The Crystal Palace defensive midfielder has played over 150 games in the Premier League. He has scored 28 goals in the competition, with 22 of those strikes coming from the spot.
The 30-year-old scored 22 goals in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 campaigns.
He netted eight Premier League penalties apiece in the 2018 and 2019 calendar years.
#4 Bruno Fernandes - 8 Premier League penalties (2020)
Bruno Fernandes has been one of Manchester United's best signings in recent years.
The attacking midfielder has been a breath of fresh air for the club since his arrival at Old Trafford in January 2020. He has tallied almost one goal contribution per game (31 goals, 23 assists) in over 60 Premier League games thus far. Thirteen of these strikes have been penalties, with eight of them coming last year.
He has missed only two of his 15 spot-kicks in the league, with one of them coming in the 1-0 loss to Aston Villa this season.
Nevertheless, Fernandes has a fabulous record from the spot. He has missed only four of his 46 penalties for club and country in his career thus far.
Note: Alan Shearer (1999) and Andy Johnson (2005) also scored eight Premier League penalties in a calendar year.
#3 Matt Le Tissier - 9 Premier League penalties (1994)
Matt Le Tissier is one of the most legendary penalty takers in Premier League history. He scored over 100 goals in the competition, with a quarter of those strikes coming from the penalty spot.
The former attacking midfielder incredibly missed only once in 26 Premier League penalties. Nine of these strikes came in 1994, a mark that would be emulated ten years later.
The 53-year-old's only miss from the spot in the league came against Nottingham Forest in the inaugural edition of the Premier League in 1992-93. That remains the only time Le Tissier missed from the spot in 48 attempts across competitions.
He would later say about his missed penalty:
"Mark Crossley (the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper who saved his penalty) is still dining out on that save, I couldn’t wish for a nicer lad to save my penalty!”
#2 Steven Gerrard - 9 Premier League penalties (2014)
Steven Gerrard is one of the best players in Premier League history never to have won the competition. He made over 500 appearances in the English top flight and scored 120 goals. More than one-third of those strikes (32) came from the penalty spot.
The Aston Villa manager joined Le Tissier in 2014 as the only players to score nine Premier League penalties in a calendar year. Gerrard came close to winning the Premier League that year before Liverpool suffered a spectacular implosion with the finish line in sight.
Ten of 13 strikes by Gerrard in the league that season came from the penalty spot. His only miss came against Manchester United in a 3-0 win.
#1 Jorginho - 10 Premier League penalties (2021)
Jorginho is widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the English top flight at the moment.
Having arrived in the competition in the summer of 2018, the Euro 2020 winner has made over 100 Premier League appearances (all for Chelsea). He has scored 19 goals in the competition, with all but two of them coming from the penalty spot.
The set-piece specialist has had a record-breaking year in the Premier League this year. With his brace of spot-kicks in the 3-1 win at Aston Villa, Jorginho has become the first player to score ten Premier League penalties in a calendar year.
Incredibly, the 2021 Ballon d'Or nominee hasn't missed from the spot in the league this year.
He could also add to that tally when Chelsea meet Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.
