Ademola Lookman Slammed By Gasperini After Missed Penalty

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Atalanta’s Champions League campaign was dramatically ended with a 3-1 home defeat to Club Brugge, confirming a 5-2 aggregate loss. The match was tainted by a missed penalty from Nigerian striker Ademola Lookman, which earned scathing criticism from Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

Entering the second leg at 2-1 behind from the first game in Belgium, Atalanta faced a huge mountain to climb. Matters worsened quickly as Club Brugge led 3-0 at halftime on two goals from Chemsdine Talbi and a scoring strike from Ferran Jutglà. The hopes of Atalanta were temporarily rekindled when Lookman, substituted at halftime, equalized just 35 seconds into the second half. This goal set a new Champions League record for fastest substitute goal at the start of a half.

The turning point was in the 61st minute when Atalanta was awarded a penalty. Despite having appointed penalty takers Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere, Lookman volunteered to take the penalty. His shot was blocked by Club Brugge keeper Simon Mignolet, who made a crucial save to preserve his side’s dominant lead.

At the post-match press conference, Coach Gian Piero Gasperini was not keeping his frustration over Lookman’s decision to shoot the penalty a secret. He stated, “Ademola Lookman is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen. He wanted to take the penalty after scoring a goal. He took the ball even though Retegui and De Ketelaere were on hand to take it. I didn’t like what Lookman did.”

Gasperini also described Lookman’s penalty record, and in his opinion, even in training, the Nigerian striker has a low conversion rate. This candid remark is the result of the coach’s frustration with the player’s judgment at a critical moment in the game.

This loss is a significant setback for Atalanta, who were hoping to advance deeper into the Champions League. The focus of the team will now shift towards their domestic Serie A campaign, in which they are third, five points adrift of leaders Napoli. The incident has also sparked some controversy about team internal dynamics and decision-making within the team in life-or-death situations.

As Atalanta rebuilds, the focus will be on learning from this experience to improve their performance in future games. The management and coaching team of the club are likely to tackle the issues raised by this game to avoid such incidents in the future.