Ademola Lookman responds to Gasperini’s outbursts over penalty miss

Ademola Lookman has released an official statement after Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini called him “one of the worst penalty takers” he’s ever seen following his miss vs. Club Brugge in the Champions League.

Lookman scored La Dea’s only goal of the night immediately after coming on at half-time in what was his return from a minor knee injury that has kept him out of three Serie A matches.

However, the current African Best Player missed a chance to reduce the deficit when he stepped up and missed a second-half penalty, despite the fact that he was not the designated set-piece taker.

Ademola Lookman and Giampiero Gasperini coach during Atalanta BC Training Session (Photo by Image Photo Agency/Getty Images)

Speaking after the match, Gasperini voiced out his frustrations saying: “Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen.”

“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 has now released a statement to clarify things. The Nigeria international via his social media handles insists that the designated penalty taker had instructed him to take the kick against Club Brugge.

The statement read: “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 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 the responsibility in the moment to do so.

“Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power, which I’ll continue to do.”