Ademola Lookman has addressed the criticism from Atalanta’s manager Gian Piero Gasperini after the team’s 5-2 aggregate loss to Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League. Gasperini specifically criticized Lookman for missing a penalty in the second leg.
Lookman, who was named Atalanta’s Player of the Season and the 2024 African Player of the Year, came off the bench when the team was behind 3-0. He scored just 35 seconds into the second half but missed an important penalty in the 61st minute that might have sparked a comeback.
In the press conference following the game, Gasperini expressed his disappointment with Lookman’s choice to take the penalty. He pointed out that Lookman was not the assigned penalty taker and had a bad track record in training.
“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty; he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” Gasperini disclosed in an after-match press conference.
“He has a frankly terrible record; even in training, he converts very few of them. [Mateo] Retegui and [Charles] De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman, in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring, decided to take the ball, and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”
