Penalties are some of the most intense moments in a football player’s career. The pressure from the spot is ramped up, with players knowing they are expected to score with every effort, even if that’s unrealistic over the course of a long career. Well, unrealistic for most, but not all. Some players simply have ice in their veins.
The Most Successful Penalty Takers in Premier League History
The Sporting News details the most successful players in Premier League history from 12 yards. Here are some key names and records:
Raul Jimenez – The Unbeaten Goal Machine
Raul Jimenez holds the best record for penalties taken in Premier League history with a 100% success rate through 14 penalties. No player has attempted as many spot kicks as the Mexico international across his stints with Wolves and Fulham and scored every time.
Jimenez’s 14 from 14 in Premier League action is three more than the 100% record of Yaya Toure, who was perfect across his 11 penalties in league play. He has scored his 14 penalties against 13 different goalkeepers, only doubling up on Christian Walton of Ipswich Town by bagging two in the same match.
Here is a list of his penalty goals:
- Nov. 3, 2018 – Wolves 2-3 Tottenham (Hugo Lloris)
- Feb. 23, 2019 – Bournemouth 1-1 Wolves (Artur Boruc)
- Aug. 25, 2019 – Wolves 1-1 Burnley (Nick Pope)
- Oct. 19, 2019 – Wolves 1-1 Southampton (Angus Gunn)
- Jan. 18, 2020 – Southampton 2-3 Wolves (Alex McCarthy)
- Jul. 12, 2020 – Wolves 3-0 Everton (Jordan Pickford)
- Jan. 15, 2022 – Wolves 3-1 Southampton (Fraser Forster)
- Sep. 28, 2024 – Nottingham Forest 0-1 Fulham (Matz Sels)
- Jan. 5, 2025 – Fulham 2-2 Ipswich Town (Christian Walton)
- Jan. 5, 2025 – Fulham 2-2 Ipswich Town (Christian Walton)
- Dec. 22, 2025 – Fulham 1-0 Nottingham Forest (John Victor)
- Feb. 1, 2026 – Man United 3-2 Fulham (Senne Lammens)
- Feb. 22, 2026 – Sunderland 1-3 Fulham (Robin Roefs)
- Mar. 21, 2026 – Fulham 2-1 Burnley (Martin Dubravka)
Other Notable Records
Only two players in Premier League history have a perfect record through double-digit attempts: Raul Jimenez and Yaya Toure. Behind them, Dimitar Berbatov was nine-for-nine, but does not make the volume cut.
The record was held by Toure until his 11-of-11 record was surpassed by Jimenez who scored against Manchester United on February 1, 2026 to put himself at the top of the list. Cole Palmer had a chance to tie Toure, but missed with his 11th effort against Leeds in March, 2025.
Best Penalty Record by Percentage in Premier League History
Here is a breakdown of the best penalty record by percentage in Premier League history (minimum 11 penalties taken):
| Player | Scored/Taken | Record | Active/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raul Jimenez | 14/14 | 100% | Active |
| Yaya Toure | 11/11 | 100% | Retired |
| Matt Le Tissier | 25/26 | 96.2% | Retired |
| Danny Murphy | 18/19 | 94.7% | Retired |
| Callum Wilson | 16/17 | 94.1% | Active |
| James Beattie | 16/17 | 94.1% | Retired |
| Julian Dicks | 15/16 | 93.8% | Retired |
| Cole Palmer | 18/19 | 94.7% | Active |
| Bukayo Saka | 12/13 | 92.3% | Active |
| Thierry Henry | 23/25 | 92% | Retired |
Most Penalties Scored in Premier League History
Alan Shearer holds the record for most Premier League penalties scored with 56. Here is a breakdown of the top scorers:
| Player | Scored/Taken | Record | Active/Retired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Shearer | 56/67 | 83.6% | Retired |
| Frank Lampard | 43/50 | 86% | Retired |
| Mohamed Salah | 35/41 | 85.4% | Active |
| Harry Kane | 33/37 | 89.2% | Active |
| Steven Gerrard | 32/39 | 82% | Retired |
Who Has the Worst Penalty Record?
Alan Shearer has missed the most Premier League penalties of any player with 11, but it’s hard to call the league’s all-time top taker as the “worst” given the misses are more of a volume than anything. He is tied with Wayne Rooney, who took 33 across his career.
Rooney is probably a candidate for the answer, with his 67% success rate well below the traditional expectation. Others who boast low score records with a fair amount of attempts include Juan Pablo Angel (5/10), Steed Malbranque (6/10), and Dwight Yorke (6/10), but all were eventually yanked from spot-kick duties due to their failures.
Raheem Sterling (4/10) fares even worse, although his attempts for Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and England are spread across all competitions. One player who displayed a poor return from a sizable volume was Michael Owen who struck just 14 times from his 21 attempts for a 67% success rate, similar to Rooney’s.
Who Is the Best Penalty Taker Ever?
Given the vastness of competitions across the world, this is an exceedingly difficult metric to quantify, but there are a few candidates.
Cuauhtemoc Blanco is considered the best ever, with a 95% success rate across 73 attempts, with just two misses in his entire career which spanned 1998 to 2015.
Another candidate is Dutch star Ronald Koeman, who holds the record for most consecutive penalties scored in the Spanish top flight with 25, and finished his career with an astonishing 94% success rate from 103 attempts (97 scored, 6 missed).
The individual with the best record in England would be Rickie Lambert, who played multiple years with Southampton, Liverpool, West Brom, and Cardiff City. Lambert scored 48 of his 51 career penalty attempts, but he does not appear on the Premier League’s all-time greats because he only attempted seven (without a single miss) in the top flight.
Southampton is something of a hotbed for English greats from 12 yards. Club legend Matt Le Tissier’s 25/26 put him on the list of the best Premier League takers. Across all competitions, his record was a remarkable 43/44, with only Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley able to deny him in a March 1993 Premier League match. Le Tissier then strung together a run of 27 perfect penalties.
