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Ante Budimir's penalty was easily gathered by Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili (Image: Premier Sports TV)
Osasuna striker Ante Budimir has been accused of taking the worst penalty ever after an awful attempt in his side’s La Liga defeat against Valencia. Budimir had the chance to seal a point deep into stoppage time but ended up dinking the ball straight at goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Valencia led 1-0 heading into added time, with Andre Almeida’s 18th-minute strike the only goal of the game. But there was late drama as Osasuna were awarded a 98th-minute penalty upon a VAR review as Budimir was fouled by Hugo Guillamon.
Budimir has been Osasuna’s talisman this season, scoring 16 goals in 31 La Liga appearances. Many would have expected the 32-year-old to comfortably convert and salvage a point for his side against a Valencia side still harbouring hopes of Conference League qualification.
But in a toe-curling incident, Budimir completely fluffed his lines and ended up gifting Mamardashvili the most comfortable of saves. The Croatian appeared to be caught in two minds over his attempt and ultimately seemed to stumble slightly as he geared up to take the spot-kick.
Ante Budimir was caught in two minds and dinked his penalty straight at Giorgi Mamardashvili (Image: Premier Sports TV)
The result was a feeble chipped attempt that bounced before being gratefully clutched by Mamardashvili. The shot was so soft that it might not even have reached the goal had the goalkeeper not been present. Budimir rubbed his eyes and looked to the heavens in disbelief over the miss.
Premier Sports commentator Pete Jenson summed up the events: “He’s missed it. And he hasn’t just missed it - It’s the worst penalty miss you’ll see, certainly this season and maybe ever.”
He added: “Poor old Ante Budimir. What a moment. What a terrible spot-kick that was. Valencia will feel that justice has been done.”
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"It's the worst penalty you'll see, certainly this season and maybe ever!"
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino said afterwards: “The players know, the staff know, the club know that the penalty taker is Cole Palmer. All that happened after is a shame. I am so, so upset about this situation.
"We were talking in the dressing room about the image that we send, because it's Monday Night Football – every single country they were watching the game and we cannot send this type of image. It's a shame. I want to apologise to the people and to our fans because that is unacceptable.”
