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11th Jun 2017

Aaron Ramsey simply couldn’t have picked a better place for this Panenka penalty…

A hell of a coincidence if he didn't know

Simon Lloyd

As anyone that watched the build-up to Wales’ World Cup qualifier with Serbia will have been reminded, the atmosphere in Belgrade can be as intimidating as they come.

Not if you’re Aaron Ramsey though.

Presented with the chance to give his country a first half lead from the penalty spot, the Arsenal midfielder looked anything but intimidated.

Having spotted the ball down, he went and chipped the ball high into to the right hand corner of the Serbian goal.

Needless to say, the majority of those watching were impressed by his composure.

https://twitter.com/BrotherOwens/status/873988097427595268

In chipping the ball, Ramsey’s pen was quickly dubbed a Panenka by many of those that had watched it. This kind of spot kick is named after Czech player Antonin Panenka, a man largely credited as being its pioneer after he used it to seal his country’s shoot-out victory over Germany in the final of the 1976 European Championships.

Interestingly, Panenka’s penalty was taken in Red Star Stadium – the very same stadium in which Ramsey had given Wales the lead on Sunday evening.

At this stage, it’s unclear if Ramsey was even aware of this fact before stepping up to take the penalty. If not, it’s certainly a hell of a coincidence.