Barcelona lead La Liga penalty misses this campaign – Opta

Barcelona recorded an unwanted La Liga milestone on Monday night after another missed spot-kick during their league clash with Girona.

The statistic emerged during Barcelona’s meeting with their Catalan rivals at the Estadi Montilivi, where both sides were level at 1-1 for long spells.

Pau Cubarsí had earlier given the visitors the lead before Thomas Lemar replied for Girona.

Yamal miss proves costly

Barcelona had a clear chance to move ahead before the break when they were awarded a penalty late in the first half.

Teenage winger Lamine Yamal stepped up to take the kick, but his effort struck the base of the post and bounced away from danger.

The miss proved significant, as Barcelona failed to fully capitalise on a strong spell of pressure and were later pegged back by the hosts. It also underlined a growing issue for the Blaugrana from twelve yards this season.

Unwanted league benchmark

According to data released by Opta, Barcelona now sit top of an undesirable La Liga chart.

“No other team has missed more penalties than Barcelona in La Liga this season (3/7, level with Valencia 3/5),” Opta reported.

The numbers highlight a conversion problem that has persisted despite Barcelona’s attacking output under head coach Hansi Flick.

While Flick’s side continue to create chances and remain firmly in the title race, missed penalties have repeatedly denied them control in tight matches.