Atlanta manager, Gian Gasperini has criticized Ademola Lookman for his penalty kick abilities following the team’s defeat in the Champions League. Lookman who scored the only goal for Atlanta against Club Brugge in a UCL play-off tie missed a crucial Penalty that could have allowed his team to fight back.
Gasperini, speaking after the match on Tuesday, maintained that the Nigerian forward is one of the worst penalty-takers he has ever seen. He expressed his dissatisfaction by saying that Lookman took the ball despite other selected takers for the penalty.
The missed penalty proved costly which resulted in the elimination of the club in the Uefa Champions League as the team failed to overturn their shortfall.
Ademola Lookman fires back
Meanwhile, Lookman has expressed his pain in a recent post on X, giving a fresh account of the issue. In the post, the forward narrated how the club’s penalty talker instructed him to take the kick.
He conveyed displeasure over how Gasperini singled him out for the defeat. Likewise, he added that he’s also disappointed alongside the fans and the entire team by the club’s elimination.
The footballer vowed to turn the pain and challenges into power for the success of the team. However, the criticism has sparked a lot of reactions among Nigerians saying that the coach is indirectly looking for a replacement.
Popular X user, Daniel Regha said that Gasperini tearing down his player can lead to resentment and affect the player’s impact in the game. Another X user pointed out that Ademola Lookman should leave the club as this same treatment was given to former Napoli striker, Victor Oshimen.
Recall that Napoli forced out Victor Oshimen, another Nigerian forward, despite winning the Scudetto for the Italian side. BCC Sports reported that the 25-year-old was frozen out after Napoli appointed Antonio Conte who was keen to bring Lukaku in as striker.
Consequently, the club eventually loaned Oshimen to Galatasaray in Turkey after being left out of the squad list.
