"Colo Colo player Cristian Zavala has been defended by his manager after bizarrely missing a 'Panenka' penalty and then limping to the touchline with an apparent injury in a shootout on Wednesday. In a friendly match against Uruguay's Peñarol where Chilean side Colo Colo emerged victorious 4-3 on penalties, one spot-kick went viral for its oddity. Zavala, days after Brahim Díaz's infamous failed Panenka in the Africa Cup of Nations final, chipped his penalty straight at the goalkeeper -- much like the Moroccan -- before, somewhat comically, going down with an injury, which many on social media believed was fake."
""Zavala had a problem," he said. "I understand wanting to take a penalty, that's just the kind of madness and anxiety Cristián has. "But I think his emotion led him to take it. Now they're checking it out, hopefully it's nothing serious.""
Cristian Zavala missed a Panenka-style penalty by chipping the ball straight at the goalkeeper during a shootout in a friendly against Uruguay's Peñarol. Colo Colo won the shootout 4-3. Moments after the failed chip, Zavala went down and limped to the touchline with an apparent injury that prompted social media to question its authenticity. Manager Fernando Ortiz defended Zavala, saying the player had been carrying a knock before the match and that his emotion prompted him to take the spot-kick. Ortiz said medical staff are checking the issue and hopes it is not serious.
Read at ESPN.com
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