There have been some notable hits and misses during that period, with Mahrez responsible for one of the worst penalty bungles with his dreadful attempt against Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League back in October 2018.
In a heavyweight clash between reigning champions and title challengers, Mahrez was afforded the chance to settle an underwhelming and goalless tie in the 85th minute when Virgil van Dijk felled substitute Leroy Sane in the box. The former Leicester City forward thrashed his wild penalty over the crossbar at warp speed, leaving the game to fizzle to a 0-0 stalemate. In fairness to Mahrez, he did go on to score his next nine consecutive penalties for City.
🗓️ #OnThisDay last year…
✨ The first leg in an unbelievable @ChampionsLeague quarter-final.#THFC ⚪ #COYS pic.twitter.com/XLkxsK6s5q
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) April 9, 2020
While ostensibly City’s most reliable penalty taker of the Guardiola era, Sergio Aguero was not immune when it came to making a hash of things from 12 yards out. Aguero was afforded an early chance to put his side in the driving seat against Tottenham Hotspur in the first leg of the 2018-19 Champions League quarterfinals when VAR awarded City a dubious penalty for handball.
Instead, the Argentine produced a tame effort on goal that was comfortably palmed away by Hugo Lloris. Just to make matters worse, a late strike from Son Heung-Min put Spurs 1-0 up on the night, and the Londoners subsequently won the tie on away goals after a second leg packed full of goals and VAR drama.
Kevin De Bruyne suffered a rare lapse in form when tasked with winning an important top-of-the-table meeting between City and Liverpool at the Etihad in 2020.
With Mohamed Salah already showing how it’s done by putting the Reds ahead from the spot in the 13th minute, Gabriel Jesus then notched a smart equaliser. De Bruyne had the opportunity to complete the comeback for Guardiola’s side from 12 yards just three minutes before the break, but the Belgian skewed a powerful but wayward spot kick beyond the left-hand upright.
There was a similar betrayal of technique when Jesus appeared to somehow use the wrong part of his foot while connecting with his penalty against Atalanta in the 2019-20 Champions League group stage.
The Brazilian striker had the chance to put City 2-0 ahead in Bergamo but failed to convert, thus opening the door for the Italian side to salvage a 1-1 draw.
