Sergio Aguero made his name as one of the world’s best finishers in his decade as a Manchester City player, but it’s fair to say he was made to look very silly by Edouard Mendy on Saturday.
The striker attempted a cheeky Panenka penalty, which was easily caught by the Chelsea goalkeeper in City’s 2-1 defeat at the Etihad.
Aguero’s tame spot kick came moments after Raheem Sterling gave the hosts the lead on a day when victory would have sealed the title for City.
No one could have predicted what would happen next, however, with Mendy simply staying on his feet to make a comfortable save from 12 yards after Gabriel Jesus was brought down by Billy Gilmour in the box.
And it proved to be incredibly costly, as Marcos Alonso scored a dramatic injury time winner as Chelsea took home all three points.
You can look at Aguero’s terrible Panenka, below…
On commentary duties for talkSPORT, Sam Matterface and Trevor Sinclair couldn’t quit believe what they saw from Aguero.
“He’s chipped the ball straight into the arms of Mendy,” said Matterface.
“It’s the most casual, pathetic penalty you have ever seen!”
“Yeah, the goalkeeper has read it,” former City star Sinclair replied. “It was fantastic play from Mendy, he stayed on his feet and kept his nerve.
“Aguero tried to Panenka it right down the middle of the goal and it’s an easy take. It’s let Chelsea off the hook.”
“It was just ridiculously nonchalant,” added Matterface. “It wasn’t even a good Panenka, it was dying before it got to the line.
“It was pretty poor, a really odd decision to make for Man City’s record goalscorer with the opportunity to put the Premier League title race to bed.”
Manager Pep Guardiola appeared angry on the touchline, but did not want to attach personal blame to his player.
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“He is selfish because he misses, if he scores he is a genius. That is the reality.
“Always I say to the players with penalties take one decision – Panenka, right, left, short, whatever you want – but commit. He was convinced.
“He is a sensible guy and we are not going to talk about what Sergio has done. He took the decision and that is all. The takers have to take responsibility and he did it.
“Everyone is disappointed but the first disappointment is him.”
Aguero, though, admitted he was sorry for the miss and took ownership after the match.
He wrote on Twitter: “I would like to apologise to my team-mates, staff and supporters for missing the penalty. It was a bad decision and I take full responsibility.”
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