Same minute, same net, same outcome: Calhanoglu’s penalty kick curse

Hakan Calhanoglu has missed only two of his 29 penalties for Inter and, remarkably, both came in the same minute, on the same matchday and in the same net at the Stadio Meazza.

It’s fair to say that Inter star Calhanoglu is one of the best penalty kick specialists in Serie A, as the 31-year-old has converted 27 of his 29 attempts from the spot.

Calhanoglu’s penalty kick curse

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 23: Mike Maignan of AC Milan saves a penalty kick Hakan Calhanoglu of FC Internazionale during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on November 23, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Oddly, however, the only two penalty kicks he missed with the Nerazzurri came under identical circumstances, as Gazzetta highlights.

Before Sunday’s Serie A game against Milan, Calhanoglu had missed just one penalty kick, in November 2024 against Napoli.

Calhanoglu’s missed penalty vs. Napoli

Inter Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu takes a penalty kick during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Inter and Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan, Italy, 10 November 2024. EPA-EFE/NICOLA MARFISI

Even that one was a Round 12 fixture played at San Siro, and even that penalty against Napoli was taken under the Curva Nord at minute 74.

Calhanoglu remains the top-Serie A goalscorer with five goals, alongside Christian Pulisic, Riccardo Orsolini and Nico Paz.

Inter’s next two games are against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and Pisa in Serie A, both away from home.

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