Italy international Leonardo Bonucci has scored his first goal for Union Berlin, as the centre-back surprisingly stepped up to take a penalty away to Borussia Dortmund.
This was the defender’s fifth competitive appearance for the German club since his free transfer from Juventus over the summer.
When the referee pointed to the spot, it was not a striker who took the responsibility from the spot, but veteran stopper Bonucci.
He took it very well, sending the goalkeeper completely the wrong way to convert.
It allowed the 36-year-old to make history as the oldest Italian to ever find the net in the Bundesliga.
Bonucci had not scored at club level since Juventus lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on November 2, 2022.
This is only the fifth penalty Bonucci has taken in his entire career and two of those were in the same game, Juve beating Lazio 2-0 in November 2021.
He only failed to convert one, saved by Luigi Sepe of Salernitana in a 2-2 draw in September 2022.
He should have been the one taking both penalties vs. Switzerland and Italy would have qualified for the 2022 World Cup without any problems.
“Should have, could have…”