Head coach of Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini said Lookman shouldn’t have taken the spot kick they were awarded in the 1-3 loss to Club Brugge, which saw them get eliminated from the UEFA Champions League.
The Nigerian was introduced in the second half as he marks his return from injury after almost a month out , and he immediately showed his importance by pulling a goal back to bring scores to 3-1.
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Atalanta were later awarded a penalty and a chance to further reduce the deficit. Lookman picked up the ball and delivered a poor penalty which was comfortably saved by Simon Mignolet.
His decision to take the spot kick didn’t leave Gasperini happy in anyway and he reacted to the miss in the post match conference branding the reigning Africa Player of the Year as one of the worst penalty takers he has seen in his life.
“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager told a post-match press conference.
The coach said one of the duo of Mateo Retegui or Charles De Ketelaere should have taken the kick rather than Lookman, and voiced his unhappiness with Lookman.
“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and 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.”
Lookman in a statement replied the coach by saying he took the spot kick because the designated taker asked him to do it. Below is his statement.
It saddens me on a day like this to have to write this statement – most of all because of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city.
Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and to the incredible fans of Bergamo.
In truth, I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here – the majority of which I have never spoken about because in my opinion the team must always be protected and must come first. This makes what happened last night even more hurtful.
Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night’s result. During the match the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to support the team I took responsibility in the moment to do so.
Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power which I’ll continue to do.