Former Argentine national soccer player Mauro Icardi unintentionally landed an internet hit with a spectacular missed shot.
The 30-year-old put an indirect penalty next to the goal in the city derby between Istanbulspor and Galatasaray in the Turkish Süper Lig, even though the goalkeeper was lying on the ground.
Icardi still scores
Icardi’s Galatasaray colleague Kerem Aktürkoglu took the penalty in the 37th minute when the score was 0-0 and laid off for the incoming striker. But Icardi, Italy’s Footballer of the Year in 2018 and two-time Serie A top scorer, shot over and then pulled his hair out in disbelief. Goalkeeper David Jensen (Istanbulspor) chose the right corner and just looked after the ball.
In the end, Icardi was still able to celebrate: just five minutes later, he scored the 1-0 winning goal – on an assist from his penalty-killing friend Aktürkoglu.
However, this penalty variant has already worked in football history. Dutchman Johan Cruyff and Dane Jesper Olsen enjoyed similar success for Ajax Amsterdam in 1982. In 2016, the then Barcelona stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez scored a confident goal with the trick.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 3 Alexis Menuge, Paris Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7 Pirmin Clossé Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 18
Record champions Galatasaray at least temporarily took over the top of the table with the win with 16 points from six games, while Istanbulspor (two points) is second to last. Icardi leads the Süper Lig top scorers list with seven goals from six games.
