# Analysis of Penalty Kick Performance in the Spanish Football League: A Longitudinal Study
###### Abstract  
(1) Background: the penalty kick is an action in football that decides many matches. The aim of this research was to establish the success rate of penalty kicks in Spain between the seasons 2012/2013 and 2019/2020 considering different key performance variables. (2) Methods: A total of 941 penalty kicks were analysed from eight seasons of the first division of the Spanish men's football league (La Liga). An observational methodology was used and, in order to obtain the results, different analytical techniques were employed: descriptive and chi square with a significance level of \(p<0.05\). (3) Results: The effectiveness of penalty kicks was 76.7%. Most of the penalties were taken by the home team (60.9%), with a tie on the scoreboard (44.2%) and within the last 30 min of the match (41.9%). The highest success rate was observed for balls kicked to the upper side of the goal (100%), even though the highest number of penalties were taken low, to one of the two sides of the goal (57.0%). Up to 5.6% of the penalties were not kicked inside the goal. (4) Conclusions: Effectiveness does not depend on home-visitor status, player laterality, score or remaining match time, studied independently. A loss of effectiveness is observed when the match scores of both teams are close and in critical moments of the match. p 20  
early [2]. As regards the player's laterality, better scoring percentages were observed in left-footed players [6; 10]. Shots that are kicked to the natural side of the kicker (in the case of a right-footed kicker, a shot aimed to the goalkeeper's right side) are the most likely to go into the goal and the most difficult for the goalkeeper to save [8]. When analysing the moment of the match when this action occurs, several authors observed that the majority of penalties take place in the last 30 min of the match [4; 5; 11]. This phenomenon may be attributed to various factors, including player fatigue, increased aggressiveness in the pursuit of results, and tactical decisions that lead to riskier situations inside the penalty area [4; 12]. Some studies analysed the match result at the time when the penalty kick occurred (winning, losing or tying), and there is no clear evidence that this variable influences the success of the penalty kick [5; 8]. Being the home or visitor team may be another aspect to consider, as it has been observed that home teams are awarded a higher percentage of penalties [5]. While it is true that different studies on the penalty kick have agreed on certain findings, there are also many contradictions on key issues, such as the most appropriate place to direct a penalty kick for maximum effectiveness. Different studies suggest different zones [1; 3; 10]. One of the drawbacks of the research on penalty kicks pointed out by the specific literature is that it has not been taken into account that the success rate of a penalty kick may depend on the league or country in which it is taken, due to the idiosyncrasies of each national competition [7; 13; 14]. Furthermore, other studies are carried out in a context in which unpredictable factors have a significant influence on the final performance of the penalty kick, due to the fact that they analyse penalty shoot-outs from European Championships, World Championships, the Champions League or other similar events [1; 2], in which some of the shots are executed by non-specialist players [7]. Based on the above, the aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of effectiveness of penalty kicks through a longitudinal investigation of eight seasons in the first division of the Spanish league (La Liga), considering in the analysis, in addition to the usual performance indicators, different behavioural patterns for in-depth study. To date, although there is evidence from studies that have investigated the penalty in football, longitudinal studies have been scarce [7]. Moreover, the few that have been conducted have focused on competitions in other countries [5; 15].