⚽ Mo Salah, Ben Foster and Penalties

In recent months, I've increasingly spent my time consuming YouTube videos rather than turning on the telly and seeing what's on. The reason being rather obvious really - on YouTube there's masses of content that I'm interested in. On TV, there isn't.

One person that I follow is Ben Foster - The cycling GK. For those that don't know who Ben Foster is, he's the former England and current Watford Goalkeeper. He's also created a great YouTube channel and his content always entertains - especially his insights into the day-to-day around Watford FC.

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Yesterday, I watched one of his shortest videos ever which for one reason or another, turned out to be one of my favourites.

It was Ben Foster revealing what Mo Salah had said to him at the end of their game with Liverpool - a game which Liverpool won 5-0 and Mo Salah scored a goal and turned in yet another man of the match performance.

This great performance wasn't enough for Mo Salah to be satisfied though - he approached Foster after the game and asked:

If we had won a penalty, which way would you have dived?

It's well known that Goalkeepers research their opponent's penalties - the players taking them almost certainly don't.

Ben Foster told him he would've gone right - The Goalkeeper's right, Salah's left. Greatness - thinking forwards to his next penalty. Here's the Ben Forster video which is well worth a watch (it's less than 1 minute long).

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So with this knowledge, what did Salah do in the 78th minute in the following game against Atletico Madrid? Did he put it to the Goalkeeper's right (which Ben Foster was expecting)? Or would he be less predictable and go down the middle or to the Goalkeeper's left....

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He put it exactly where Ben Foster had predicted. Which makes me wonder 2 things:

1. Why didn't Oblak do the same research as Ben Foster?
2. Why did Salah still put it to the Goalkeeper's right where in the previous match, Ben Foster would've saved it?

Greatness in thinking about his next penalty... foolish to ignore the information provided? Lucky to score the next penalty? Or greatness in knowing that Oblak would dive to his left? Only the great man himself can answer this.