Penalties ultimately come down to luck, concedes Ronaldo

04/08/2012 8:20:00 PM

The Portugal international did not have much fortune from 12 yards out in the 2011-12 campaign, as he believes spot kicks are a lottery rather than a skill

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed that penalty shoot-outs ultimately come down to luck.

The prolific forward lost after spot kicks in Madrid's Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich as well as at Euro 2012 with Portugal versus Spain, and he feels he was very unfortunate to be on the losing side twice on big occasions.

"It was very hard what I went through last season. First, with Madrid against Bayern, and then with Portugal at the Euros. With Real Madrid, in the semi-finals of the Champions League, I took the first and missed; against Spain I decided to take the last one, but could not," Ronaldo said to ESPN.

"For me, penalties ultimately come down to luck. So for me I’d say that it was very unfortunate to have so much bad luck in such a short space of time, and at crucial moments.

"Everyone will have their own ideas of whether to take the first, the second, or the last, but in the end it is a bit of a lottery."

The 27-year-old netted 46 goals in 38 Liga appearances in 2011-12.

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