PSG penalty taker: Will Kylian Mbappe, Neymar or Lionel Messi take spot-kicks this season?
Paris Saint-Germain remains a star-studded side in 2022-23 with a number of players ready to step in front of goal.
Last season, Kylian Mbappe scored PSG’s most penalties, with the Ligue 1 champions being awarded 14 in all competitions.
Mbappe converted five of his six tries for the club while Neymar netted three of his four penalties.
Lionel Messi only competed on penalties in last season’s UEFA Champions League and scored two of his three goals. Mauro Icardi also interfered in the penalty action and converted his only effort in the Coupe de France.
Who will take penalties for PSG in 2022-23?
New PSG manager Christophe Galtier has avoided explaining which player will take penalties for the club this season.
Neymar gave PSG their first win of the season in the Trophee des Champions win over Nantes but Mbappe was notably absent from that game.
Then, on 13 August, it was Mbappe who scored PSG’s first Ligue 1 penalty of the 2022/23 season.
The Frenchman had his effort saved, however, as Neymar reclaimed the penalty’s duties when they were awarded another just 20 minutes later.
Neymar managed to score with his effort as he seemed to show why he should be PSG’s main penalty taker this season.
After the game, the Brazilian liked a series of posts on Twitter demanding that Neymar take penalties instead of Mbappe.
However, Galtier was hesitant to switch penalty takers after the 5-2 win against Montpellier and still doesn’t seem to have any real preference.
“The order was chosen for this game,” said Galtier after the game.
“Kylian shot first so it was logical that Neymar ran next. We’ll see in the future.”
Based on these comments, Messi seems to be the third choice this season while Mbappe and Neymar are fighting to become Galtier.
📺 The highlights of our first win of the season at Parc 🆚 Montpellier (5-2)! 🔴🔵
#PSGMHSC pic.twitter.com/tCQqsaeCke
— Paris Saint Germain (@PSG_English) August 14, 2022
MORE: Who is new PSG manager Christopher Galtier?
Is Neymar or Mbappe better at penalties?
As attackers with an eye for goal, both Neymar and Mbappe pride themselves on their ability to score from the penalty spot.
Unsurprisingly, being seven years older than Neymar, he scored more penalties on August 13, 2022.
The Brazilian has scored 71 penalties so far, including 15 other attempts that missed the net. Mbappe, on the other hand, has scored 20 penalties with five misses in his 25 total attempts.
In terms of clean penalty percentage, the Brazilian has a slight lead with 82.5 per cent of his shots resulting in goals compared to the Frenchman’s 80 per cent.
Messi, on the other hand, has scored 104 goals and missed 30 shots throughout his career, giving him a 77.6% penalty-kick success rate.