Shoot-out records: the long and the short of it

Up until the night of 20 July 2023, it was hard to imagine that there would be a more remarkable UEFA competition shoot-out than the one that decided the 2021 UEFA Europa League final. On that occasion, Villarreal ran out 11-10 winners against Manchester United; the first 21 kicks in the match in Gdansk were successfully converted, before Gerónimo Rulli saved the 22nd, which was taken by United goalkeeper David de Gea.

However, in a UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round decider in Belfast, Malta's Gżira United and hosts Glentoran went a good distance further. At The Oval, the first 27 kicks were scored (14 for Gżira, 13 for Glentoran) before Gżira goalkeeper David Cassar saved the 28th, taken by Leon Boyd (one of six players who ended up taking two penalties).

It was the highest-scoring shoot-out in UEFA competition history, but perhaps amazingly, not the longest.

Origin

• FIFA adopted the shoot-out on 27 June 1970, as proposed by Israel Football Association (IFA) president Michael Almog after seeing his national team lose a 1968 Olympic quarter-final on the drawing of lots.

First

• The first shoot-out in UEFA competition came on 30 September 1970 when Budapest Honvéd beat Aberdeen 5-4 in the European Cup Winners' Cup first round.

• That November, Everton eliminated Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-3 by the same method in the European Cup second round.

Epics

• Longest in UEFA competition: The 2007 UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final between the Netherlands and England had 32 attempts before the Dutch hosts prevailed 13-12 in the longest shoot-out in any UEFA competition.

• Highest-scoring in UEFA competition: Malta's Gżira United beat Glentoran 14-13 on penalties in a UEFA Europa Conference League first qualifying round decider in Belfast. The first 27 penalties were successfully converted.

Prior to this game, the highest scoring shoot-outs in UEFA competition history ran to 21 conversions. Latvia's Skonto overcame Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia 11-10 in the 1993/94 UEFA Champions League preliminary round, and Villarreal beat Manchester United 11-10 in the 2021 UEFA Europa League final.

Shortest

• The fewest penalties scored in a major shoot-out was on a showpiece occasion, Steaua București edging Barcelona 2-0 in the 1986 European Cup final, with Helmut Duckadam keeping out all four of the Spanish side's attempts.

EURO

• Czechoslovakia overcame West Germany 5-3 with Antonín Panenka's famous chip to win the 1976 UEFA European Championship, the first time the final of the senior competition went to penalties. The now-defunct golden goal rule was used in 1996 and 2000. Italy became just the second side to win a EURO on penalties when they beat final hosts England 3-2 in the EURO 2020 decider.

In major UEFA club finals

European Cup final shoot-outs
1984: Liverpool 4-2 Roma
1986: Steaua Bucureşti 2-0 Barcelona
1988: PSV Eindhoven 6-5 Benfica
1991: Crvena zvezda 5-3 Marseille
1996: Juventus 4-2 Ajax
2001: Bayern München 5-4 Valencia
2003: AC Milan 3-2 Juventus
2005: Liverpool 3-2 AC Milan
2008: Manchester United 6-5 Chelsea
2012: Chelsea 4-3 Bayern München
2016: Real Madrid 5-3 Atlético de Madrid

UEFA Cup/Europa League final shoot-outs
1984: Tottenham 4-3 Anderlecht
1988: Leverkusen 3-2 Espanyol
1997: Schalke 4-1 Inter Milan
2000: Galatasaray 4-1 Arsenal
2007: Sevilla 3-1 Espanyol
2014: Sevilla 4-2 Benfica
2021: Villarreal 11-10 Manchester United
2022: Eintracht Frankfurt 5-4 Rangers
2023: Sevilla 4-1 Roma

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final shoot-outs
1980: Valencia 5-4 Arsenal