Valentin Barco had the chance to put Chelsea into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. He stopped, started again and hit the post. Liverpool went on to win the fourth-round shootout at Anfield 6-5 after a 1-1 draw. The miss has restarted an old argument about the stuttering run-up.
Wesley Fofana ended the tie in sudden death when he sent his kick high over the bar into the Kop. Joe Gomez then scored the winner into the top corner after a plain, straight run-up. Gomez had never scored a senior goal in 319 professional appearances. Barco’s kick drew the attention because it came after the stop-start approach that has become common in elite football. Critics say it is a habit that too often hurts the player taking it.
A tie decided by the spot
The match itself was close. Morgan Rogers put Xabi Alonso’s side ahead from the penalty spot after Ryan Gravenberch fouled Moises Caicedo in the box. Cody Gakpo equalised about three minutes later. Gakpo has now scored in every Carabao Cup match he has played at Anfield. The two sides finished with almost the same number of shots, 10 to 11, and similar expected goals, 2.10 to 1.82.
Both sides missed several kicks in the shootout:
- Kostas Tsimikas and Gravenberch both failed to score for Liverpool.
- Barco hit the post with Chelsea’s fourth penalty after a stuttered run-up.
- Liverpool goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saved from Emmanuel Emegha.
- Fofana missed in sudden death, and Gomez scored the winner.
Chelsea have now been knocked out of a cup competition on penalties, and Liverpool have beaten Alonso’s teams on all three of his visits to Anfield as a manager.
Why players stutter, and why critics call it naive
The idea is simple. The taker slows down or pauses near the end of the run-up and hopes the goalkeeper commits to one side first. If the keeper moves, the taker places the ball the other way. If the keeper waits, the taker has lost speed and has to rely on accuracy alone.
The critics say that second outcome is now the usual one. “It is naive,” one critic said after the game. “When they do the stutter they think the keeper might go, but they aren’t going that early.” The same critic said Barco did not need to aim so close to the post: “He has already beaten the goalkeeper, he doesn’t have to hit it into the top corner.”
Former Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta defended Barco’s right to choose. “Every player picks his style where he feels confident,” he told ITV. He added, with a smile: “I don’t believe that was his first time, I hope not!” Former Liverpool and England defender Glen Johnson said Barco missed by only inches. He said the pause does give the taker time, but questioned how Barco carried it out.
The laws allow it, within limits. Feinting during the run-up is permitted, but a player may not feint once the run-up is complete and they are about to kick the ball. The International Football Association Board added that rule in 2010, after the “paradinha”, a mid-run pause long associated with Pele and later used by Brazilian players, started to look like a deliberate trick to fool goalkeepers. There is still no exact definition of where a legal stutter ends and an illegal feint begins, so referees have to judge each case.
A technique that splits opinion
Barco is far from the first player to be criticised for the technique. Jorginho made the hop his trademark at Chelsea and Napoli and scored most of his penalties with it. When it failed, it looked bad. After Lukasz Fabianski saved a weak effort from him against West Ham, former Arsenal and England goalkeeper David Seaman said takers who stutter and miss end up looking foolish. Bruno Fernandes has used his own version at Manchester United and has a strong record from the spot. That record is the main argument supporters of the technique point to.
Harry Kane’s experience against Croatia shows both sides of it. Dominik Livakovic saved Kane’s stuttered penalty, but he had come off his line early. Kane retook the kick and scored. The pause gave the goalkeeper more time to read the shot, and only a rule breach by the goalkeeper got the taker out of trouble.
The wider trend explains why the debate keeps returning. Teams now give goalkeepers detailed data on each taker’s habits, and goalkeepers are coached to wait longer before diving. That means the delay a stutter relies on often produces nothing. The keeper is still standing, and the taker has slowed down and lost power. A player then has to place the ball within inches of the post to beat the keeper, and that leaves very little margin for error.
For Alonso, the question is now practical rather than theoretical. Chelsea have Premier League and European fixtures still to come, and more shootouts are likely in knockout games. Barco is 21 and is a new signing from Strasbourg. He will not be the last player to choose the stop-start approach. On this occasion, Gomez took a straight run-up and scored the winner.
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The match facts are confirmed by Sports Illustrated’s match report. Most of the debate coverage comes from smaller sites that copy BBC Sport’s story. I couldn’t read BBC Sport’s original article, so a few points need care before you publish:
– **Who said “naive”:** No source I could read names who said it. One search summary credited Danny Murphy on TalkSport, but that seems to mix in comments he made about a different game, Arsenal’s defeat the night before. I left the quotes unattributed.
– **Glen Johnson:** I paraphrased him because I couldn’t confirm his exact words.
– **Kane penalty:** One source reported the 4-2 win over Croatia, but not the date or tournament, so the article gives neither.
– **From my own knowledge, not today’s sources:** the 2010 IFAB rule change and the paradinha, Jorginho’s and Fernandes’s styles, Seaman’s comment, the point about goalkeeper data, and the claim that Chelsea have more European fixtures to come. Check these, especially the European fixtures.
Sources:
– [SI – Liverpool player ratings vs Chelsea](https://www.si.com/soccer/liverpool-player-ratings-vs-chelsea-reds-triumph-penalty-shootout-10-28-26)
– [Headtopics – ‘Stutter’ penalty back under debate (copy of BBC Sport’s story)](https://uk.headtopics.com/news/carabao-cup-stutter-penalty-back-under-debate-after-89311247)
– [Archyde – Barco miss renews stutter debate](https://www.archyde.com/valentin-barco-penalty-miss-renews-stutter-technique-debate/)
– [TVC News – Liverpool beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties](https://www.tvcnews.tv/liverpool-beat-chelsea-6-5-on-penalties-to-reach-carabao-cup-quarter-finals/)
– [Goal – Seaman on stutter penalty takers](https://www.goal.com/en/news/jorginho-stutter-penalty-takers-slammed-arsenal-legend-seaman/bltb2ce870eb867c75a)
– [Football Latest – headline page crediting BBC Football](https://charltonathletic.footballlatest.co.uk/news/20261029-00002)
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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