Jordan Ayew Misses Penalty as Leicester City Fall to Charlton Athletic
- Jordan Ayew missed the first penalty of his club career as Leicester City lost 2-0 at home to Charlton Athletic after falling behind in the first half
- Charlton struck through Sonny Carey and Lyndon Dykes before the break, while Leicester had already been reduced to 10 men early on following Caleb Okoli’s red card
- Interim boss Andy King admitted the early dismissal and injury disruptions derailed the game plan, but urged his players at half-time to show fight and avoid a heavier defeat
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Jordan Ayew missed the first penalty of his club career as Leicester City fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Charlton Athletic in the English Championship.
The Ghana captain was handed a starting role by interim manager Andy King against the relegation-threatened visitors at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, January 31.
Source: Getty Images
Charlton’s leading scorer, Sonny Carey, opened the scoring in the 36th minute with his seventh goal of the campaign.
The visitors doubled their lead before half-time when Lyndon Dykes guided Chambers’ cross back across goalkeeper Jakub Stolarczyk, marking the Scotland international’s third goal of the season and his first for Charlton.
Jordan Ayew misses penalty
Black Stars forward Jordan Ayew squandered a huge chance to reduce the deficit.
In the 56th minute, he stepped up from the penalty spot but saw his effort from 12 yards strike the post, despite sending the goalkeeper the wrong way, per Sky Sports.
It marked the first penalty miss of his club career, as his shot clipped the outside of the left-hand post, denying Leicester a route back into the contest.
Watch video of Jordan Ayew's penalty miss below:
Fellow Ghanaian Abdul Fatawu Issahaku had won the penalty after a dazzling dribble led to him being fouled inside the box.
Leicester’s problems had already deepened earlier, as they were reduced to ten men after just 15 minutes when Caleb Okoli was shown a red card.
Ayew was substituted in the 76th minute, making way for Zambian striker Patson Daka, with loud cheers from the home crowd as the change was made.
Source: Getty Images
After the match, Leicester’s interim boss Andy King told BBC Radio Leicester:
“It’s always hard when you get a red card after 15 minutes. A lot of our prep work goes out of the window then, and it’s a long time to be defending with 10 men against a big, physical side. “Then a senior midfielder gets injured, and we don’t know how long that will be. So it was a really disruptive first half and we went in 2-0 down, which was massively disappointing. “I said to them at half-time, ‘you’ve got two ways of playing this. We can either go under and show what we’ve been labelled as, be soft and let it go to three, four or five. Or you can come out, show some fight and try to galvanise our season a little bit.’”
Jordan needs to raise his level: Ghanaian coach
Meanwhile, former Ghana U17 coach Isaac “Opeele” Boateng has expressed concern over Jordan Ayew’s recent displays for Leicester City, insisting the Black Stars captain must raise his level ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Boateng suggested the forward’s performances have not been convincing and warned that reputation alone should not guarantee a starting spot.
“Jordan’s performance at Leicester hasn’t been too impressive,” Opeele told YEN.com.gh. “He’s the national team captain, so expectations are higher, and he needs to return to his very best form before the World Cup.”
He added that he would make tough decisions if standards are not met:
“If his performances continue like this, I won’t hesitate to bench him. The national team must always come first.”
Jordan Ayew scores in Leicester win
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Jordan Ayew wasted no time announcing himself in 2026 after finding the net for Leicester City in their clash against West Bromwich Albion on January 5, 2026.
The experienced forward struck early to hand the Foxes a welcome lift and set the tone for the contest.
Source: YEN.com.gh
