‘Genius Waterbottle’ Shows How Pickford Correctly Predicted and Saved Maddison’s Penalty

• Jordan Pickford saved James Maddison's penalty thanks to some brilliant work of research
• Pickford's water bottle showed how Maddison always preferred to shoot down the middle
• Penalties sent at the centre of the goal have the worst success rate in the Premier League

Jordan Pickford rescued a point for his side by saving a James Maddison penalty on May 1 as the battle to avoid relegation heats up.

Everton made the trip to King Power to face Leicester and their early pressure quickly paid off with Dominic Calvert-Lewin converting a penalty he had won.

Leicester, however, responded through Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy before Maddison was accorded a brilliant opportunity to put the game to bed just before half-time.

However, the England international couldn't beat his compatriot, with his shot down the middle parried away by the Three Lions' number one.

Lampard says Chelsea woes shouldn't ruin his reputation

Football

Pickford's water bottle

Later, cameras picked up Pickford's water bottle, which had penalty sheets of the likely Leicester penalty takers and where they would likely place their penalties. According to the images, Maddison was given a 60% likelihood to shoot in the middle and rightly so, he did.

Speaking after the game, Pickford revelled in his save, calling for the creative playmaker to learn his lesson.

"Madders, he needs to learn his lesson! He doesn't play poker, by the sounds of it. Nah, to be fair, I do my homework. I called it this morning which, I was going to go," as quoted by the Sun.

Alex Iwobi's strike earned Sean Dyche's side a point, with Leicester climbing out of the relegation places on goal difference.

Pickford's penalty save brought about questions about where it is best for one to place his effort. Penalties are often defined as a 50-50 chance but the likelihood of one scoring than missing is often higher.

Emi Martinez reveals psychology trick to help Argentina teammates score penalties against France

Football

Where to put your penalty

As the Athletic reports, the best place for a kicked to put his effort is the bottom corners. A low strike is often preferred as it gives the goalkeeper a very short time to get down and react. So, when it is down and beyond the keeper's reach in the bottom corner, one is always likely to score.

You've probably heard of 'the penalty was perfect for the keeper's height.' These are shots that are mostly taken down the middle, which is often the keeper's starting position. The chances of scoring such a penalty have been placed at 5%, with Maddison's miss providing more fodder.

The top corners have a success conversion rate of 7% each. Getting either top corner can be a huge risk as there is a slight margin of error in beating the goalkeeper and keeping it down. Just ask Mohamed Salah against Bournemouth or, crucially, Harry Kane against France in the World Cup. These are some of the best penalty-takers in the Premier League, by the way.

Spurs fight back to hold Man Utd, Newcastle thrash Everton

Football

Types of penalties

There is also the concept of goalkeeper-dependent and goalkeeper-independent techniques. The former requires the goalkeepers to make a move first before the taker makes a choice. A good example is the stuttering runs we see from Bruno Fernandes, Jorginho and Romelu Lukaku at times.

The other category takes the goalkeeper out of the equation; it doesn't matter what the goalkeeper does; the taker will do what he has decided. This is often seen with the high-risk Panenka penalties. When scored, they are beautiful, aesthetic even, but when saved; it is often a huge embarrassment to the taker. Again, ask Sergio Aguero what Eduoard Mendy did to him or, better yet, Ademola Lookman against Lukasz Fabianski.

Bottom line is, there is really no technique for getting in a good penalty. It is often just lots of practice, a little bit of mid games and a lot of luck. It would be interesting to see where Maddison places his next penalty.

Ten Hag hails 'inspirational' Man Utd captain Fernandes

Football

Bizarre penalty rule in W UCL

Now, it doesn't matter whether you have watched football long enough or not, but I bet you do know that whenever a penalty kick is awarded during normal time, other players are allowed to mill around the box to pounce on the rebound.

But during the post-match penalty shootouts, it is only the taker, the goalkeeper and referee who are allowed near the box. However, fans were taken aback during Chelsea Women's game against Lyon Women's on March 30th at Stamford Bridge when the penalty rules were seemingly reversed.

Centre referee Ivana Martincic sent away all the players apart from the taker and the goalkeeper thanks to an unusual rule that came to the fore after that game.