Without Robert Lewandowski on the pitch against Valencia, there was some debate about who should take the penalty on Sunday. Ultimately Ferran Torres stepped up and dragged his shot wide to the left, much to the chargrin of Camp Nou.
In the lead up to the penalty, Ansu Fati had looked as if he wanted to take the spot-kick, seemingly asking Ferran for the ball. However the former Valencia winger was adamant that he would be stepping up.
🎥 Ansu Fati asking Ferran Torres for the penalty
❓Did Ansu Fati unintentionally add pressure on Ferran Torres?
— Barça Spaces (@BarcaSpaces) March 6, 2023
There was some confusion about the issue. It has been pointed out by Sport that the logical taker would have been Franck Kessie, who was Milan’s designated penalty taker. He scored against Real Betis in the Spanish Supercup semi-final penalty shootout, and in his career has missed just 5 of his 32 penalties. A success rate of 85%, it is above the average.
After the match, Raphinha confirmed that Torres was due to take the penalties, and it was decided by Xavi Hernandez before the match. Ansu asked for it of his own initiative.
Raphinha: "Before the game, it was decided who was going to shoot the penalty. I understand that Ansu really wanted to shoot and help, but it was determined before the game." #fcblive
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) March 5, 2023
On Monday, Adria Albets has confirmed that it was supposed to be Torres too, and that Kessie did not take the penalty because he did not start the match.
👉 Ferran Torres ayer era el primero de la lista de lanzadores de penaltis del Barça, Ansu el segundo. Kessié no estaba porque no fue titular. A las 12h lo ampliamos en el @QueThiJugues.
— Adrià Albets (@AdriaAlbets) March 6, 2023
It proved not to be costly in the end, but could well have gone the other way had a controversial decision been given against Kessie later on. While Ansu clearly wanted to help the team, it perhaps was not advisable to distract Torres before it was taken.
