Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola acknowledges his team has a “problem” with penalties after they clinched first place in their Champions League group with a 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund despite Riyad Mahrez’s miss from the spot.
Since the Catalan took charge in 2016, City has failed to score 25 of its 80 penalties, excluding shootouts.
Emre Can fouled Mahrez, who then moved up to take the penalty kick, but Gregor Kobel made the right move to block his attempt.
Both teams will be pleased with the outcome, as Borussia Dortmund also advanced to the round of 16, according to the draw.
Guardiola said, “Since I’ve been here, we’ve missed 25 penalties, the most of them in the Champions League.
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They’re too many. Although bravery is always admired, it is problematic to miss so many penalties.
“We need to become better. But, unfortunately, there are few tolerances for error in this race, and these circumstances may make all the difference.
City’s success rate in the Champions League (12/17) is somewhat higher than that of the Premier League (36/52).
James McFadden, a former striker for Scotland covering the game, said: “I thought Mahrez’s penalty was imposing. What a save; it’s a side foot with a lot of strength.
After scoring nine of his first ten penalties for City, Mahrez has now missed three of his last four.
Erling Haaland, the City manager’s best scorer, was unexpectedly substituted at halftime after only 13 touches. He then disclosed that the Norwegian had a knock and a temperature.
Youssoufa Moukoko, 17, missed a fantastic opportunity for Dortmund, while Stefan Ortega made many stops, making his City debut.