Overshadowed by the impressive performance of Raúl Jiménez during Mexico's conquest of the CONCACAF Nations League, even the FIFA Date has not helped Santi Giménez find his form. Last night, he came on as a substitute for Milan to try to help them make a comeback against Napoli. However, he missed a penalty that ended up condemning any attempt at a comeback from the team coached by Sérgio Conceiçao, confirming that Santi Giménez is in crisis.

Fifth missed penalty by Santi Giménez

For the first time in nine matches, excluding the first two where he was still adapting after arriving from Feyenoord, Santi Giménez started a match as a substitute for Milan. It was no ordinary match, as they were facing a rival they had to beat in order to keep up with Inter Milan in the title race.

However, Sérgio Conceiçao opted to start Tammy Abraham in an attempt to shake up the team. The decision, of course, didn’t go well, and Conceiçao brought on Santi Giménez in the 55th minute. Less than 15 minutes later, he took the ball with the score at 2-0 in favor of Napoli after a penalty on Theo Hernández, but his shot was saved by Meret. It was the fifth penalty he has missed in his career since he started to shine at Cruz Azul.

Six matches without scoring for Santi Giménez

"There are three penalty takers. They are the ones who decide. In my opinion, Pulisic, to give confidence to a teammate who has not scored in several weeks, made this decision. It's a sign of a united locker room,” explained Sérgio Conceiçao after the match. However, this is no excuse for the terrible penalty dynamics at Milan this season. In fact, they are the team that has missed the most penalties in the top five leagues, along with Freiburg, with a total of four.

Certainly, this miss came at the worst possible time for Santi Giménez. Since the goal he scored in the Champions League return match against Feyenoord on February 18, he has not scored again. Not counting the two matches with Mexico, he has now gone six matches without scoring. Therefore, we’ll see if he can break this bad streak against Inter Milan in the semifinals of the Coppa Italia.