| Updated: Penalty kicks remain one of the most decisive moments in football, capable of flipping a match, a title race or a relegation battle with a single whistle. Across Europe’s top leagues, debates about “soft” decisions, VAR interventions and big-club bias never really disappear, but they rarely come with a clear picture of who actually benefits the most – or suffers the most – from spot-kicks over a full season.
To shed light on that, Sportingpedia analysed penalty records for 132 clubs across Europe’s top seven leagues – the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Eredivisie and Liga Portugal. For each team we looked at penalties awarded (“penalties received”), penalties conceded, and the simple net balance between the two (penalties received minus penalties conceded), as well as the total number of penalty incidents they have been involved in.
The numbers reveal a clear pattern. Liga Portugal and La Liga emerge as Europe’s penalty hotspots, while Real Madrid, Benfica and Braga enjoy the biggest positive penalty balances at +8 each. At the other end, Moreirense and Arouca stand out as the worst-hit clubs with heavy negative balances and no penalties in their favour, with Wolfsburg and Casa Pia also sitting deep in the red. In between, eight teams are still waiting for their first penalty of the campaign – Heidenheim, PEC Zwolle, Utrecht, Moreirense, Arouca, Famalicao, Aston Villa and Tottenham. A small group of sides – Porto, Arsenal, Chelsea and Roma – have somehow reached this point in the season without conceding a single league penalty.
Teams from Europe’s top 7 leagues with the most penalties during their matches
Data Source: Transfermarkt
Clubs winning the most penalties
Looking purely at penalties received, Braga sit at the top of Europe’s charts with 11 spot-kicks awarded in Liga Portugal. That also makes them the club most involved in penalties overall, with 14 incidents (11 for, 3 against), underlining just how often their league matches hinge on decisions from twelve yards. Close behind are Benfica and Real Madrid, both awarded 10 penalties and both with only two conceded, giving them the joint-best net balance in the sample.
Liga Portugal dominates the upper end of the table. Porto have already received 7 penalties and are yet to concede any, while Benfica (10), Braga (11), Tondela (8) and Alverca (7) ensure that many of the league’s biggest moments are decided from the spot. In La Liga, Real Madrid lead the way with 10 penalties received, ahead of Girona and Barcelona on 6 each. In the Eredivisie, AZ top the list with 8 penalties awarded, followed by Twente on 7.
In the Premier League, Brentford stand out with 7 penalties received, more than any other English side, while Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been awarded 3. In Serie A, Pisa, Fiorentina, Torino and several others cluster around the 5 and 6-penalty mark, but none approach the double-digit figures seen in Spain and Portugal.
Clubs conceding the most penalties
On the other side of the equation sit the clubs who seem to spend their seasons living on the edge in their own penalty areas. Moreirense are the clearest example: they have conceded 8 penalties in Liga Portugal without receiving a single one in return. Their -8 balance is the worst in Europe’s top seven leagues and underlines how costly repeated defensive lapses or marginal calls can be over a campaign.
Arouca are not far behind with 7 penalties conceded and none received (-7), while Casa Pia and Wolfsburg have both conceded 8 spot-kicks with only 2 in their favour (-6 each). Paris FC and Nice in Ligue 1 (both -4), Burnley in the Premier League (-4), Villarreal in La Liga (-4) and Lecce in Serie A (-4) complete a group of sides where penalties have become a recurring problem rather than an occasional setback.
Celta, Metz, and Paris FC have each conceded 8 penalties in La Liga and Ligue 1 respectively, although in those cases the teams at least have a handful of penalties going in their favour to soften the blow. Even so, repeated trips to the spot for the opposition inevitably shape how these teams’ seasons look in the table.
Teams with the biggest differences in Net penalties for 2025/26 season in Europe’s top 7 leagues
Data Source: Transfermarkt
Biggest net winners and losers
Once penalties received and conceded are placed side by side, a small group of clubs emerge as clear net winners. Real Madrid, Benfica and Braga all hold a net balance of +8, combining frequent penalties in their favour with relatively few against them. Real Madrid’s 10-2 split (10 received, 2 conceded), Benfica’s identical 10-2 record and Braga’s 11-3 profile all translate into a clear advantage over the course of the season.
Porto follow with a remarkable +7, having been awarded 7 penalties without conceding any. Just behind are AZ on +6 (8 received, 2 conceded), while Brest in Ligue 1 and Twente, Freiburg and Bayern Munich each sit at +5. In England, Chelsea lead the way with a +4 balance (4 penalties for, none against), while Arsenal and Manchester United both stand at +3.
At the other extreme, Moreirense’s -8 and Arouca’s -7 stand out as the harshest penalty profiles in the dataset. Wolfsburg and Casa Pia both sit on -6, while Burnley, Villarreal, Lecce, Famalicao, Nice and Paris FC share a -4 balance. For these clubs, the cumulative effect of penalty decisions is not just anecdotal – it is a structural disadvantage that can add up to several points over a season.
Clubs with no penalties received or conceded
Only a handful of teams have managed to reach this stage of the season without conceding a single penalty. Porto in Liga Portugal, Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League, and Roma in Serie A all boast zero penalties against them in league play. All four have still been awarded penalties of their own, giving them positive net balances and underlining how disciplined or well-protected their penalty areas have been.
At the other end, eight clubs are still waiting for their first penalty of the campaign. Heidenheim in the Bundesliga, PEC Zwolle and Utrecht in the Eredivisie, Moreirense, Arouca and Famalicao in Liga Portugal, and Aston Villa and Tottenham in the Premier League have all yet to see the referee point to the spot in their favour. For some, like Moreirense and Arouca, that lack of penalty awards is combined with a heavy flow of penalties conceded, making their situation particularly stark.
Across all seven leagues there is no team that has completely avoided penalties in both directions. Even the most disciplined or least favoured sides have either conceded at least one spot-kick or benefited from one themselves.
League-by-league patterns
At league level, Liga Portugal emerges as Europe’s penalty hotspot. Clubs there have been awarded 80 penalties in total, more than any of the other six competitions in the dataset. La Liga is close behind on 76, with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Girona and Celta all heavily involved, while Ligue 1 sits on 73, driven by the likes of Toulouse, Brest, Metz and Paris FC regularly finding themselves in penalty-heavy encounters.
Serie A follows with 67 penalties awarded, featuring a wide spread between teams such as Pisa, Fiorentina, Inter and Juventus near the top of the penalty charts and sides like Lecce and Udinese taking repeated blows at the other end. The Premier League’s total of 59 penalties points to a slightly lower overall penalty frequency, although clubs such as Brentford, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United still show strong positive balances or heavy involvement.
The Bundesliga and Eredivisie are the lowest in raw penalty volume, with 57 and 51 penalties awarded respectively, but still contain some of the most extreme individual profiles. AZ and Twente headline the Dutch league’s net winners, while Freiburg and Bayern Munich have built strong positive balances in Germany. At the same time, clubs such as Wolfsburg, PEC Zwolle and Utrecht sit among the least fortunate when it comes to VAR checks and refereeing calls inside the box.
Methodology
The analysis covers all 132 clubs from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Eredivisie and Liga Portugal in the current 2025/26 season. For each team, penalties received represent penalties awarded in their favour, while penalties conceded are those given against them. The net figure is calculated as penalties received minus penalties conceded, and total penalties are the sum of the two, capturing how often a club’s league matches involve spot-kicks in either direction.
Detailed Data
| Team | Penalties Received | Scored | Penalties Conceded | Scored | NET (Received-Conceded) | Total Penalties | League |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfsburg | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 | -6 | 10 | Bundesliga |
| Koln | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | -4 | 6 | Bundesliga |
| Augsburg | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | -3 | 5 | Bundesliga |
| Heidenheim | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 2 | Bundesliga |
| Union Berlin | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 6 | Bundesliga |
| Stuttgart | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | -2 | 10 | Bundesliga |
| Hamburger | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 5 | Bundesliga |
| St. Pauli | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | -1 | 7 | Bundesliga |
| Werder Bremen | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Bundesliga |
| Hoffenheim | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | Bundesliga |
| RB Leipzig | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Bundesliga |
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Bundesliga |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | Bundesliga |
| Borussia Dortmund | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Bundesliga |
| Mainz | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Bundesliga |
| Borussia Monchengladbach | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | Bundesliga |
| Freiburg | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | Bundesliga |
| Bayern Munich | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 7 | Bundesliga |
| PEC Zwolle | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | -3 | 3 | Eredivisie |
| Utrecht | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | -3 | 3 | Eredivisie |
| Ajax | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | -3 | 5 | Eredivisie |
| Telstar | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | -2 | 6 | Eredivisie |
| Heracles | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | -2 | 8 | Eredivisie |
| Volendam | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 3 | Eredivisie |
| Feyenoord | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -1 | 5 | Eredivisie |
| PSV | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 5 | Eredivisie |
| Fortuna Sittard | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Eredivisie |
| NAC | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Eredivisie |
| Sparta Rotterdam | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | Eredivisie |
| Excelsior | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | Eredivisie |
| NEC | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | Eredivisie |
| Go Ahead Eagles | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Eredivisie |
| Heerenveen | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Eredivisie |
| Groningen | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Eredivisie |
| Twente | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 | Eredivisie |
| AZ | 8 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 10 | Eredivisie |
| Villarreal | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | -4 | 6 | La Liga |
| Elche | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | -3 | 5 | La Liga |
| Celta | 5 | 5 | 8 | 3 | -3 | 13 | La Liga |
| Betis | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -2 | 4 | La Liga |
| Oviedo | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | -2 | 6 | La Liga |
| Sevilla | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | -2 | 12 | La Liga |
| Rayo Vallecano | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -1 | 7 | La Liga |
| Getafe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | La Liga |
| Levante | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | La Liga |
| Valencia | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | La Liga |
| Espanyol | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | La Liga |
| Mallorca | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | La Liga |
| Atletico Madrid | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | La Liga |
| Osasuna | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | La Liga |
| Athletic Bilbao | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | La Liga |
| Real Sociedad | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | La Liga |
| Girona | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 | La Liga |
| Alaves | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | La Liga |
| Barcelona | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | La Liga |
| Real Madrid | 10 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 12 | La Liga |
| Moreirense | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | -8 | 8 | Liga Portugal |
| Arouca | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | -7 | 7 | Liga Portugal |
| Casa Pia | 2 | 1 | 8 | 7 | -6 | 10 | Liga Portugal |
| Famalicao | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | -4 | 4 | Liga Portugal |
| Avs | 4 | 2 | 7 | 6 | -3 | 11 | Liga Portugal |
| Estrela Amadora | 4 | 3 | 7 | 6 | -3 | 11 | Liga Portugal |
| Estoril | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | -2 | 8 | Liga Portugal |
| Gil Vicente | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | -1 | 9 | Liga Portugal |
| Vitoria Guimaraes | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | Liga Portugal |
| Nacional | 6 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | Liga Portugal |
| Rio Ave | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | Liga Portugal |
| Sporting Lisbon | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Liga Portugal |
| Alverca | 7 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 12 | Liga Portugal |
| Santa Clara | 5 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Liga Portugal |
| Tondela | 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 13 | Liga Portugal |
| Porto | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | Liga Portugal |
| Benfica | 10 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 12 | Liga Portugal |
| Braga | 11 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 14 | Liga Portugal |
| Nice | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | -4 | 8 | Ligue 1 |
| Paris FC | 4 | 4 | 8 | 4 | -4 | 12 | Ligue 1 |
| Angers | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | -2 | 6 | Ligue 1 |
| Rennes | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -2 | 6 | Ligue 1 |
| Lorient | 4 | 1 | 6 | 4 | -2 | 10 | Ligue 1 |
| Metz | 5 | 4 | 7 | 6 | -2 | 12 | Ligue 1 |
| Strasbourg | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | -1 | 7 | Ligue 1 |
| Lens | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | -1 | 9 | Ligue 1 |
| Nantes | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | Ligue 1 |
| Monaco | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | Ligue 1 |
| Lyon | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Ligue 1 |
| Le Havre | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | Ligue 1 |
| PSG | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | Ligue 1 |
| Lille | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | Ligue 1 |
| Auxerre | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | Ligue 1 |
| Marseille | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Ligue 1 |
| Toulouse | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 11 | Ligue 1 |
| Brest | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Ligue 1 |
| Burnley | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | -4 | 8 | Premier League |
| West Ham | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | -3 | 9 | Premier League |
| Aston Villa | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | -2 | 2 | Premier League |
| Everton | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -2 | 4 | Premier League |
| Fulham | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | -2 | 4 | Premier League |
| Nottingham Forest | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -2 | 6 | Premier League |
| Tottenham | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | Premier League |
| Liverpool | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 5 | Premier League |
| Brighton | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | -1 | 11 | Premier League |
| Leeds | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 | Premier League |
| Sunderland | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Premier League |
| Manchester City | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Premier League |
| Bournemouth | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | Premier League |
| Crystal Palace | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | Premier League |
| Newcastle | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | Premier League |
| Brentford | 7 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 13 | Premier League |
| Wolverhampton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Premier League |
| Arsenal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Premier League |
| Manchester United | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Premier League |
| Chelsea | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | Premier League |
| Lecce | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | -4 | 6 | Serie A |
| Udinese | 3 | 3 | 6 | 5 | -3 | 9 | Serie A |
| Napoli | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | -3 | 9 | Serie A |
| Parma | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -2 | 6 | Serie A |
| Milan | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | -2 | 12 | Serie A |
| Verona | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 5 | Serie A |
| Cremonese | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 5 | Serie A |
| Sassuolo | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | -1 | 7 | Serie A |
| Cagliari | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | Serie A |
| Atalanta | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Serie A |
| Lazio | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | Serie A |
| Fiorentina | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | Serie A |
| Torino | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 | Serie A |
| Genoa | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Serie A |
| Juventus | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | Serie A |
| Bologna | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | Serie A |
| Como | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 8 | Serie A |
| Pisa | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 | Serie A |
| Roma | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Serie A |
| Inter | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Serie A |
Data Source: Transfermarkt