Eric Bailly Attempted A No-look Penalty For Ivory Coast And It Went Exactly As Expected
Eric Bailly missed his penalty as Ivory Coast were eliminated from the Africa Cup Of Nations.
Eric Bailly attempted a no-look penalty for Ivory Coast last night and it ended in absolute disaster.
The Manchester United defender was the only player from both sides to miss in the round of 16 penalty shoot-out against Egypt, with Liverpool star Mo Salah scoring the winning spot-kick at the Japoma Stadium in Cameroon.
The likes of Nicolas Pepe, Maxwell Cornet and Wilfried Zaha all converted from 12 yards, but Bailly, who took Ivory Coast's third penalty, did not do the business.
His effort was saved by Mohamed Abou Gabal, who guessed right and made the one-handed stop.
But it was an utterly extraordinary penalty from Bailly, who seemingly thought he was playing five-a-side at Powerleague and not at a major international tournament.
Not only was it a one-step penalty but he also looked in the other direction as he struck the ball.
Bailly has a knack for doing things in his own unique way and this was no different.
The former Villarreal man went viral in the same game after sporting a Petr Cech-esque helmet due to a head injury he suffered in the previous match.
He had conjured up a strong defensive showing in his 120 minutes on the pitch and could have quite easily been Man of the Match.
But he ended up costing his side with an extremely casual penalty that he will be likely be regretting now.
The 27-year-old will now return to United earlier than expected for the remainder of the season and give Ralf Rangnick another option at centre-back.
Egypt talisman Salah kept his cool and rolled his penalty in to set up a North African derby with Morocco in the quarter finals.
Featured Image Credit: Image: Sky SportsTopics: Eric Bailly, Ivory Coast, Africa Cup Of Nations, Manchester United
Josh Lawless