O atacante chutou, e o goleiro defendeu o pênalti.

O is the masculine singular definite article, equivalent to the.

• o atacante = the attacker
• o goleiro = the goalkeeper
• o pênalti = the penalty

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English does, so seeing o here is completely normal.

Even though atacante ends in -e, it can still be masculine or feminine depending on the person:

• o atacante = the male attacker
• a atacante = the female attacker

In this sentence, goleiro and pênalti are also masculine nouns, so they take o.

Both are in the preterite tense, which is used for completed actions in the past.

• chutou = shot / kicked
• defendeu = saved / defended

These are third-person singular forms:

• ele/ela chutou
• ele/ela defendeu

So the sentence describes two finished actions:

1. the attacker took the shot
2. the goalkeeper saved it

The comma before e is acceptable here because the sentence joins two full clauses with different subjects:

• O atacante chutou
• o goleiro defendeu o pênalti

In Portuguese, a comma before e is often optional in cases like this, especially when the writer wants a slight pause or clearer separation between the two actions.

So both of these can sound natural:

• O atacante chutou e o goleiro defendeu o pênalti.
• O atacante chutou, e o goleiro defendeu o pênalti.

The version with the comma feels a little more marked or dramatic, which fits sports narration well.

Because in soccer language, defender is commonly used for what English calls to save.

So:

• O goleiro defendeu o pênalti = The goalkeeper saved the penalty

This is a very normal Brazilian Portuguese sports expression.

You will also hear:

• defender um chute = save a shot
• defender uma cobrança = save a kick
• fazer uma defesa = make a save

So while defender often means to defend in general, in soccer it frequently means to stop a shot.

Chutou literally means kicked or shot. It is understandable and natural, but in soccer-specific Portuguese, Brazilians often use more specialized verbs for penalties, such as:

• bater o pênalti = take the penalty
• cobrar o pênalti = take the penalty
• converter o pênalti = score the penalty

So:

• O atacante chutou focuses on the act of shooting.
• O atacante bateu o pênalti focuses more specifically on taking the penalty kick.

The original sentence is still fine, especially in simple narration.

Yes. In Brazilian Portuguese, pênalti is the normal word for a soccer penalty.

Examples:

• Foi pênalti. = It was a penalty.
• O juiz marcou o pênalti. = The referee awarded the penalty.
• Ele perdeu o pênalti. = He missed the penalty.

Pênalti is a loanword adapted to Portuguese spelling and pronunciation. It is masculine, so it takes o:

• o pênalti

In Brazilian Portuguese, pênalti is pronounced approximately like PEH-naw-chee or PEH-nawl-chee, depending on accent.

A few helpful points:

• The ê in pê is a stressed vowel.
• The stress is on the first syllable: PÊ-nal-ti
• In many Brazilian accents, ti sounds like chee

So a rough English-friendly approximation is:

PÊ-nal-tchi

Not exact, but close enough for a learner.

In Brazilian Portuguese, goleiro is the normal word for goalkeeper.

In European Portuguese, the usual word is guarda-redes.

So if you are learning Portuguese for Brazil, goleiro is the word you want.

You may also hear:

• arqueiro = goalkeeper, but more formal/literary or sports-commentary style

Yes, very often.

Because the verb ending already shows the person and tense, Portuguese can omit subjects when they are understood from context.

So after context is established, you might hear:

• Chutou, e o goleiro defendeu o pênalti.
• O atacante chutou, e defendeu o pênalti.

However, in a clear standalone sentence, keeping the nouns is more natural and less ambiguous:

• O atacante chutou, e o goleiro defendeu o pênalti.

This is especially true when two different people are involved.

Yes, but the original word order is the most neutral and natural:

• O atacante chutou, e o goleiro defendeu o pênalti.

Portuguese usually follows subject + verb + object order.

You can change things for emphasis, but it may sound more literary, dramatic, or context-dependent. For example:

• O pênalti o goleiro defendeu.
  This strongly emphasizes the penalty and sounds much less neutral.

• Defendeu o pênalti o goleiro.
  This is possible in very dramatic narration, but not the most basic word order.

For learners, the original structure is the safest one to copy.

No. Chutou only means that he shot or kicked.

It does not tell you whether the shot went in.

In fact, the second clause tells you it did not score:

• o goleiro defendeu o pênalti = the goalkeeper saved it

So the full sentence clearly describes:

• the attacker took the shot
• the goalkeeper stopped it

If the attacker had scored, Portuguese might say:

• O atacante marcou o pênalti.
• O atacante converteu o pênalti.
• O atacante fez o gol.