There has been some confusion regarding why Santiago Gimenez took the penalty during AC Milan’s defeat against Napoli last night.
Napoli ended up winning the game 2-1 after two first-half goals from Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku put them in command, rendering Luka Jovic’s late goal just a consolation And yet, it could have been very different.
Milan were given a colossal opportunity to get back into the game in the 67th minute, when Theo Hernandez was brought down in the area by the new entrant Billing. A penalty was immediately awarded, then missed by Gimenez. But what happened before the penalty?
It must be noted that the designated penalty taker is Christian Pulisic, but DAZN (via Calciomercato.com) reported that it was the American – together with Leao, who immediately went to recover the ball after the decision – who gave the spot kick to the Mexico international.
It is, therefore, unlike what happened in the Fiorentina away game. In that instance, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham were protagonists as the defender gave the ball to his compatriot, with Pulisic a bystander.
In this case there was no discussion, but a conscious choice by the two forwards. After the missed penalty, Fofana immediately went to console his team-mate, who has now gone a month and a half without scoring.
