Ademola Lookman has hit back at Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini who practically blamed the striker for his side’s loss to Club Brugge in Tuesday night’s Champions League tie.
Lookman who was coming back from a three-week injury lay off scored in the 46th minute after being introduced in the second half. Atalanta were already three goals down, but his penalty miss, irked Gaspirini believing that had Lookman scored, Atalanta could have fought back. They crashed out the tournament on a 5-2 aggregate to the Belgian side.
“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini said.
“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. [Mateo] Retegui and [Charles] 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.”
But Lookman in a statement Wednesday felt he has been disrespected by his coach with his outburst that singled him out in the ouster.
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.”
