Emil Forsberg: An expert from twelve yards
Emil Forsberg scored his 20th penalty for the Red Bulls in the second leg against Real Sociedad | All the RB Leipzig penalty stats | The best penalty takers in history
Role model and fan favourite, Emil Forsberg
Since joining the Red Bulls in 2015, Emil Forsberg has not only become our “Mr. Champions League,” but has also become the club’s most successful penalty taker. The 30-year-old Swedish international scored the 20th spot-kick of his Leipzig career in the second leg of the Europa League tie against Real Sociedad, his sixth of the current season.
The ice-cool number ten has scored twelve penalties in the Bundesliga, four in the Champions League, three in the Europa League and one in the DFB-Pokal.
Domenico Tedesco was full of praise for the forward in the aftermath of the first leg against Real Sociedad: “Emil Forsberg put in a great performance, picking up the ball in deep-lying positions and driving forwards.” Just three days later, Emil featured in the Red Bulls' 6-1 demolition of Hertha BSC and it could have been the game in which he scored his 20th penalty for the club. However, he was substituted just a couple of minutes before RBL were awarded a spot-kick. He converted the landmark penalty four days later in the 3-1 victory in the second leg against Sociedad.
It was goal-machine Christopher Nkunku who took on the responsibility of taking the penalty kick against Hertha and he slotted the ball into the bottom corner with ease. It was the Frenchman’s first goal from the penalty spot for the Red Bulls, and he will have to score a few more if he is to join Forsberg at the top of the list. Daniel Frahn, who scored 15 times from the spot, is the second most prolific penalty taker in the history of the club. Behind him is Timo Werner, who scored ten times from twelve yards for the Red Bulls.
There have been a total of 95 penalties taken in the history of the club, of which 78 were converted, giving RBL a strong conversion rate of 82%. The international king from the penalty spot is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has so far scored 143 penalties in his illustrious career. He is well clear of rival Lionel Messi, who has scored 103. However, they are both well ahead of the other greats from twelve yards, including Francesco Totti (86), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (84) and Alan Shearer (72).
The most prolific German penalty taker is Gerd Müller, who scored 70 times from the spot in all competitions. His 365 league goals still make him the Bundesliga’s record goal scorer. However, the World Cup winner is not the Bundesliga’s most successful penalty taker. This record belongs to Manfred Kaltz, who scored 53 times from twelve yards. The record for the longest streak of successfully converted penalty kicks belongs to the former goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt, who scored 17 in a row for Hamburger SV from April 1999 to February 2001. The record for the most penalties scored in a league match belongs to Michael Nushöhr. In February 1986, the Stuttgart defender scored three penalties in a 7-0 win over Hannover 96.
It must be said, that it will be difficult for Emil Forsberg to break the records mentioned here. Nevertheless, our number ten is officially a penalty expert. The Swede has only missed three of the 26 penalties he has taken in his career, giving him an impressive conversion rate of 89%.