Ademola Lookman has hit back at Gian Piero Gasperini’s criticism of his penalty miss during Atalanta’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Club Brugge, saying that being singled out by his coach “not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful.”
Lookman, who scored Atalanta’s only goal on the night, had a penalty saved by goalkeeper Simon Mignolet as the Serie A side were knocked out with a 5-2 aggregate defeat on Tuesday.
Speaking in a news conference after the match, Gasperini criticised Lookman’s penalty-taking ability and said that Charles De Ketelaere or Mateo Retegui should have taken it instead.
“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” the Italian manager said.
“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, who scored a hat trick as Atalanta won last year’s Europa League final against Xabi Alonso’s previously all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen side, responded to Gasperini’s comments in a post on X on Wednesday.
“It saddens me on a day like this to have a to write this statement — most of all because of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city,” the forward wrote.
“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.”
