Liverpool vs Real Madrid on Wednesday was one of the most remarkable games of the season.
The Anfield crowd was electric for a big European night as the Reds picked up their first win against Real Madrid in over a decade.
This match had it all, great goals, big tackles and, remarkably, two penalty misses.
Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe are two of the best players in the world. Salah is a Ballon d’Or contender, while some believe Mbappe is better than Salah.
However, both men missed from penalties at Anfield on Wednesday, much to the bemusement of Arne Slot.
Speaking to CBS after the game, Slot noted just how rare this occurrence is, saying that you’re unlikely to ever see something like that again.
Arne Slot, manager of Liverpool, looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United FC and Liverpool FC at Old Trafford on Septembe...
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Arne Slot stunned by Liverpool and Real Madrid penalty misses
Slot spoke about the two missed penalties, claiming that this may never happen again.
Indeed, the Liverpool boss reckons we may have seen a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence on Wednesday.
“These players usually score from the penalty spot. It was good that Caoimhin saved the penalty of Mbappe, but that is a rarity. You don’t see Mbappe missing often, and you don’t see Salah missing often. You will probably never see it again that both of them miss in the same game and it happened today,” Slot said.
Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappe likely to miss penalties in the same game once in 2,766 years
Slot says that this is a very unlikely occurrence, and he’s not wrong.
Indeed, the data shows that this is incredibly unlikely to ever happen again.
This season in the Premier League, penalties have been given at a rate of 0.19 per game.
So, to extrapolate that data, there’s around a 3.6% chance of two penalties being given in one game, and while the maths isn’t perfect here, that means there’s around a 1.8% chance of both teams getting a penalty in the same game.
Now, given Kylian Mbappe and Mohamed Salah’s remarkable penalty records, both players score 80% of their penalties, you’re looking at a very unlikely scenario for both players to miss penalties in the same game.
Percentage likelihood
Both teams given a penalty in the same game* 1.8%
Mohamed Salah to miss a penalty 20%
Kylian Mbappe to miss a penalty 20%
Mbappe and Salah to both miss concurrent penalties 4%
Mbappe and Salah to miss penalties in the same game 0.072%
*Based on Premier League data this season
This situation has a 0.072% likelihood of occurring, which means it will happen around once in every 1,388 games.
Given that Mbappe and Salah have only played against each other three times in the last six years, the data suggests we may be waiting 2,766 years to see this happen again.
Salah may be getting better with age, but to play almost three millenniums is a bit of a stretch.
We truly saw something remarkable at Anfield on Wednesday as two of the best players in the world missed penalties in the same game.
Related Posts