Christian Benteke threw it away with his penalty miss, now he has to make amends for Crystal Palace... plus find out who makes my Team of the Week

  • Christian Benteke had little to gain and much to lose with Bournemouth penalty
  • He wrestled the ball off Luka Milivojevic, who had earlier scored from the spot
  • Benteke's weak effort was saved, meaning his scoreless run goes to 12 games
  • His Palace penalty record is dismal - he has converted two of his five efforts

Christian Benteke had little to gain and so much to lose by taking that decisive penalty against Bournemouth.

I respect him for wanting to shoulder the responsibility of scoring the winning goal for his team, but had he scored, it is not as if Benteke would have become an overnight fan favourite. He is without a goal in 12 games and his work-rate has been questioned.

At the clubs I played for, the penalty taker was decided before kick-off and that was that. I could understand Benteke taking over had Luka Milivojevic missed from the spot earlier in the game, or if he had been taken off, but the midfielder has a perfect penalty record for Palace and emphatically put away his spot-kick.

Christian Benteke had little to gain and much to lose with that penalty against Bournemouth

Christian Benteke had little to gain and much to lose with that penalty against Bournemouth

Benteke wrestled the ball off Luka Milivojevic, who had earlier scored from the spot

Benteke wrestled the ball off Luka Milivojevic, who had earlier scored from the spot

Benteke's weak effort was saved, meaning his dry run for Crystal Palace runs to 12 games

Benteke's weak effort was saved, meaning his dry run for Crystal Palace runs to 12 games

Contrast this with Benteke whose record is dismal — converting just two of his five penalties for Palace. Had he scored, the incident would have been similar to when Paolo Di Canio wrestled the ball from Frank Lampard to take a penalty for West Ham against Bradford in 2000.


Di Canio converted, inspiring a comeback from 4-2 down to win 5-4. When you put yourself in that position you have to score. Already under pressure to perform, Benteke now faces an uphill struggle to get the fans back on side.

There is only one way he can recover from this. Benteke needs to go into training this morning and work his socks off. He may even have to sit his team-mates down, admit he made an honest mistake and apologise.

He can quickly make amends by putting in his best performance in a Palace shirt, should Roy Hodgson start him at home to Watford on Wednesday. This could be the making or breaking of his Crystal Palace career.

Benteke's penalty record is dismal - he has converted just two of his five penalties for Palace

Benteke's penalty record is dismal - he has converted just two of his five penalties for Palace

 

Selhurst Park has seen two of the best volleys scored in the Premier League. Four years ago Pajtim Kasami scored an outrageous looping strike there for Fulham, which I ranked as one of my top 20 Premier League goals.

Now Jermain Defoe has lit up the ground with an amazing piece of brilliance. It’s great to see him back among the goals at Bournemouth — and what a timely reminder for Gareth Southgate ahead of the World Cup.

Jermain Defoe  lit up Selhurst Park with an amazing volley in Bournemouth's 2-2 draw at Palace

Jermain Defoe lit up Selhurst Park with an amazing volley in Bournemouth's 2-2 draw at Palace

 

The records keep tumbling for Harry Kane. He has now scored 50 goals in 2017 for club and country — a rare feat in England. Dixie Dean did it in 1927, as did Jimmy Greaves in 1962.

Kane’s numbers are up there with the world’s best. All he is missing are the trophies to go with his remarkable goal tally. If Tottenham match Kane’s ambitions, he can fulfill his dreams with his boyhood club.

The records keep tumbling for Harry Kane. He has scored 50 goals in 2017 for club and country

The records keep tumbling for Harry Kane. He has scored 50 goals in 2017 for club and country

 

Manchester United paid £75million for Romelu Lukaku to decide the big games. So far, he has come up short.

He has now failed to score in all five games against United’s top six rivals, having only three shots on target. Seven of his eight league goals have been against sides in the bottom half with the other against 10th-placed Everton.

It is not enough to say Lukaku is starved of service. The likes of Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer would conjure something from nothing.

If Lukaku is going to emulate great forwards such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford, he must become United’s game-changer.

Manchester United paid £75m for Romelu Lukaku to decide big games - he has come up short

Manchester United paid £75m for Romelu Lukaku to decide big games - he has come up short