Liverpool, England: Kevin Mirallas missed a penalty he wasn't supposed to take as Everton was held to a 0-0 draw by West Bromwich Albion on Monday in the Premier League.
Everton was awarded a penalty just before halftime when defender Joleon Lescott handled the ball in the area. Mirallas grabbed the ball and marched to the penalty spot, refusing to give it to regular penalty taker Leighton Baines despite the protests of his teammates. The Belgian then sent his spot kick against the outside of the post, and was then substituted at halftime by manager Roberto Martinez.
It was the key moment of the match, but both Martinez and midfielder Steven Naismith — who gestured angrily to Mirallas to give the ball to Baines — played down the incident after the game.
"Obviously for me, Leigthon Baines is the No. 1 penalty taker," Martinez said. "(But Mirallas) felt really confident and he wanted to take it at that point. ... Leighton Baines was quite happy to allow him to do that."
He added that "the big disappointment is that we missed the penalty, not who took it, or why we missed it."
Martinez said he substituted Mirallas because "he wasn't 100 percent, he was feeling his hamstring."
West Brom kept frustrating Everton after the break as the hosts failed to find a breakthrough despite controlling possession. West Brom remained a point behind 12th-place Everton, which is winless in six games. West Brom remained undefeated in three games in all competitions under newcrr manager Tony Pulis.
One of the few reasons for the home fans to cheer came at halftime, when Sylvester Stallone delivered a video message before a film crew shot images of crowd reaction for his new movie "Creed," a spinoff of the "Rocky" franchise.
