Nani has scored seven times from the penalty spot in 12 attempts across his Orlando City SC career. Of the five the Portuguese legend has failed to put away, Matt Turner made a critical stop in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs last season.
Turner again got the better of Nani Saturday at Gillette Stadium, helping the New England Revolution to a 2-1 win as they continue their potential record-setting Supporters’ Shield push.
New England have won four of their last five and are unbeaten in five, having clinched a berth in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs on Wednesday. They are on 62 points, averaging 2.21 points per game, with six matches remaining. They're also guaranteed a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference standings and a home postseason game.
Orlando, meanwhile, suffered their fourth consecutive defeat. And while the Lions are fifth in the Eastern Conference table, they’re just two points above the line and trending in the wrong direction entering October.
Orlando head coach Oscar Pareja said the decision to select Nani to take the PK, after Andrew Farrell fouled Daryl Dike in the box, was his alone.
“It is my responsibility,” Pareja said in his post-match press conference. “Players train, they work, this is part of our trainings and the selection is my responsibility. I don’t want to go against the players. I’m the head coach and I take that blame.”
Nani has tried to change things up from the penalty spot, something Turner said he recognized in preparations for the match.
"Yeah, [Nani] has been changing his run-up in his past few penalties, so I know that he's trying to wait and wait and wait until the keeper makes his move,” Turner said. “Fortunately, I did bite a little bit early, but I was able to hold my momentum enough to cover the middle and he had it low enough where I was able to make a save on it. So, it's a good save, an important moment, but you know the best thing of all is three points.”
Nani and Orlando will look to bounce back Wednesday (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+) on the road against a Nashville SC side that's undefeated (8-0-6) at Nissan Stadium this season.
