UCL: Gasperini blasts Lookman after Atalanta’s Champions League exit

By Monsurah Olatunji

Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini was furious as his team crashed out of the Champions League, suffering a 5-2 aggregate defeat to Club Brugge on Tuesday night.

The Italian tactician had Ademola Lookman in his sights after the forward missed a crucial penalty that could have kept Atalanta’s hopes alive. Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, the Bergamo-based team suffered a 3-1 loss at home, sealing their exit from the competition.

Lookman, who had been sidelined with injury for a month, came off the bench at halftime and made an immediate impact, scoring just 35 seconds into the second half. However, with Atalanta already trailing 3-0 on the night, Lookman’s goal seemed to awaken the Europa League champions.

The pivotal moment came when Lookman stepped up to take a penalty in the second half. Despite teammates Mateo Retegui and Charles De Ketelaere being on the field, Lookman took the spot-kick, which was saved by Club Brugge’s goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.

After the match, Gasperini expressed his displeasure, saying Lookman should not have taken the penalty, adding that the 27-year-old had a “frankly terrible record even in training.”

“Ademola Lookman is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” Gasperini said. “He wanted to take the penalty after scoring a goal. He took the ball despite Retegui and De Ketelaere being available. I didn’t like what Lookman did.”

Interestingly, Lookman had been perfect from the penalty spot for Atalanta, having scored all four penalties he had taken prior to the match. However, in his professional career, he has now converted four out of six penalties, having also missed one for Fulham in 2020 with a Panenka-style attempt.

Retegui, on the other hand, had converted just two of his four penalties before the Brugge clash, and had seen his penalty saved by Arsenal’s David Raya earlier in the campaign.

Despite their early promise, Atalanta’s European dreams were dashed, and the team will now have to wait until next season for another shot at the Champions League.