How do professional football players perform under immense pressure?

Professional football players need to keep a cool head during a match, but some are better at this than others. Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be immune to pressure, while Neymar's performance crumbles under it. It's one of the remarkable findings of a study conducted by KU Leuven and data intelligence company SciSports. They're presenting their results at the 'MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference' in Boston in March. It's sometimes said that football isn't just played between the lines, but also between the ears. Professional football players are generously rewarded for their talent, but are often expected to perform under immense mental pressure. A crucial save from the goalkeeper, scoring the decisive penalty or giving the perfect assist for the winning goal: the right action can sometimes be worth millions.