By Monsurah Olatunji
Club Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has revealed the tactical approach that helped him deny Ademola Lookman’s penalty, playing a crucial role in his team’s progression to the Champions League round of 16 against Atalanta.
Lookman, who had been sidelined with an injury for a month, made an impressive return, scoring Atalanta’s only goal of the match early in the second half.
However, despite the early goal, the Serie A side had already been trailing 3-0 at half-time, and Lookman’s efforts couldn’t reverse the deficit.
The pivotal moment came when Lookman was awarded a penalty, but Mignolet stepped up to deny him with a crucial save, sealing Club Brugge’s 3-1 victory on the night and a 5-2 aggregate triumph, sending Atalanta out of the competition.
After the match, Mignolet shared his tactical thinking behind the save.
“They scored very early in the second half and might have changed the game, then came that penalty situation,” Mignolet speaking to the UEFA website.
“I spoke with our goalie coach as we didn’t expect Lookman to take it, as he had been injured for a while.”
“Luckily, I chose the right side and saved it. After that, we defended very well as a team and earned a deserved victory,” he added.
Mignolet’s calm and calculated decision-making played a key part in securing Brugge’s progression to the knockout stages, ending Atalanta’s European journey for the season.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
