Atalanta Coach Slams Lookman After Costly Penalty Miss In UCL Defeat

Ademola Lookman, crowned African Footballer of the Year, faced harsh criticism from his coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, following Atalanta’s exit from the UEFA Champions League.

Despite scoring early in the second half to spark hope for a comeback, Lookman missed a crucial penalty in their 3-1 loss to Club Brugge, sealing a 5-2 aggregate defeat.

Gasperini expressed frustration, stating Lookman was never meant to take the spot-kick and labeling him as one of the least reliable penalty takers on the squad.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“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,” he stated.