Paris Saint-Germain remain a star-studded side in 2022-23 with a number of players ready to step up in front of goal.
Last season, Kylian Mbappe took the majority of PSG’s penalties with the Ligue 1 champions awarded 14 in all competitions.
Mbappe converted five of his six attempts for the club, while Neymar was successful with three of his four spot-kicks.
Lionel Messi only stepped up for penalties in the UEFA Champions League last season and scored from two of his three efforts. Mauro Icardi also got in on the penalty action converting his one attempt in the Coupe de France.
Who will take penalties for PSG in 2022-23?
New PSG manager Christophe Galtier has avoided declaring which player will take penalties this season for the club.
Neymar did take PSG’s first of the season in their Trophee des Champions win over Nantes but Mbappe was a notable absentee for that match.
On August 13, it was then Mbappe who stepped up to take PSG’s first penalty in Ligue 1 for the 2022-23 season.
The Frenchman had his effort saved, however, with Neymar taking back spot-kick duties when they were awarded another just 20 minutes later.
Neymar managed to score with his effort as he seemingly looked to show why he should be PSG’s main penalty taker this season.
After the match, the Brazilian liked a number of posts on Twitter calling for Neymar to take spot-kicks instead of Mbappe moving forward.
Galtier, however, was coy about the change in penalty takers after the 5-2 win over Montpellier and seems to still have no real preference.
“For this match, the order was chosen thus,” Galtier said after the game.
“Kylian shot first, so it was logical that Neymar went next. We’ll see in the future.”
Based on those comments, Messi would appear to be third-choice this season with Mbappe and Neymar battling it out to be Galtier’s go-to.
📺 The highlights from our first victory of the season at the Parc 🆚 Montpellier (5-2) ! 🔴🔵
#PSGMHSC pic.twitter.com/tCQqsaeCke
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) August 14, 2022
MORE: Who is new PSG manager Christopher Galtier?
Is Neymar or Mbappe better at penalties?
As attackers with an eye for goal, both Neymar and Mbappe pride themselves on their ability to finish from the penalty spot.
As Neymar is seven years older, he has unsurprisingly scored more spot-kicks as of August 13, 2022.
The Brazilian has netted 71 penalties so far with 15 more efforts not finding the back of the net. Mbappe, meanwhile, has scored 20 penalties with five misses from his 25 attempts overall.
In terms of sheer penalty success as a percentage, the Brazilian boasts a slight edge with 82.5 per cent of his spot-kicks resulting in goals compared to the Frenchman’s 80%.
Messi, meanwhile, has scored 104 throughout his career and had 30 misses, giving him a spot-kick success rate of 77.6%.
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