Chloe Kelly‘s thunderous penalty that won England‘s World Cup shootout against Nigeria in the last-16 was more powerful than any Premier League goal scored last season, figures show.
The Man City star was the hero once again as she followed up on her Euro 2022 winning strike with another crucial moment to lead the Lionesses into the quarter-finals of the tournament after a 4-2 victory in the shootout.
And despite the huge pressure placed on her shoulders as she stepped up to take the kick that would send England through, Kelly didn’t seem fazed in the slightest as she smashed the ball into the top left hand corner with aplomb.
And it has now been revealed that her thumping effort clocked in at a stunning 111km per-hour – by far the most powerful shot of the Women’s World Cup so far and even more powerful than any effort from the 2022-23 Premier League campaign.
Previously West Ham’s Said Benrahma registered the most powerful strike of the domestic campaign, with his shot coming in at 107.2km per-hour.
Chloe Kelly’s winning penalty for England against Nigeria clocked in at 111km per hour
Her thumping effort was more powerful than any Premier League goal scored last season
Kelly’s penalty secured a 4-2 shootout win for the Lionesses to book a World Cup quarter-final spot
It was certainly an unusual penalty-taking technique from Kelly, who lifted her left leg up in the air before hopping onto her right before firing her penalty home.
Kelly said herself she felt totally confident in her strike and fully believed it would hit the back of the net despite the pressure facing her.
‘For me, [my mentality] is, ‘I’m going to score’ – that is how I look at it, once I win that mental battle we are good.
‘We have been practising (penalties) a lot actually and it has been working.’
Kelly’s shot was more powerful than Said Benrahma’s record of 107.2km per hour last November
She added: ‘It’s amazing, anything that is thrown at us we show what we are capable of. We dig deep as a group and we believe in our ability and in what we are told to do.
‘This team is special, we did it in the Euros and the Finalissima and we keep pushing forward. There is more to come from this team.’
Benrahma’s smashing effort against Crystal Palace in November of last year looked like it would be hard to beat after he rifled home into the top left hand corner from just outside the box to open the scoring for the Hammers.
He became the second player to win the award since its induction the previous year – with Fernandinho taking home the inaugural award.
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