Ademola Lookman mentioned Wednesday that he was damage by “disrespectful” criticism of his penalty taking by his personal coach Gian Piero Gasperini after Atalanta’s elimination from the Champions League by Membership Brugge.
Nigeria attacker Lookman had a spot-kick saved throughout Atalanta’s shock 3-1 defeat in Bergamo which dumped out the Italians 5-2 on combination on the play-off stage.
Gasperini then instructed reporters: “He is one of many worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen. He hardly scores any even in coaching”.
Lookman, who has turn out to be a star at Atalanta and smashed a hat-trick in final season’s Europa League remaining conquer Bayer Leverkusen, took to social media to share his upset at such public criticism.
“It saddens me on a day like this to have to put in writing this assertion –- most of all due to what we’ve got achieved collectively as a crew and as a metropolis,” mentioned Lookman.
“Being singled out within the method I’ve been not solely hurts however feels deeply disrespectful, not least due to the immense laborious work and dedication I’ve all the time put in each day to assist deliver success to this membership and the unimaginable followers of Bergamo.”
Lookman denied Gasperini’s claims that he “determined to take the ball” away from Charles De Ketelaere and Serie A high scorer Mateo Retegui in a second of enthusiasm after coming off the bench firstly of the second half and rapidly pulling a objective again.
Atalanta had been three objectives down, 5-1 on combination, at half-time of Tuesday’s second leg in Bergamo and wanted to attain 4 occasions to drive further time.
“Throughout the match the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to assist the crew I took the duty within the second to take action,” mentioned Lookman.
Lookman, 27, has been at Atalanta since 2022 and has a contract which expires in June subsequent yr after failing to drive a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain final summer season.
He has scored 15 occasions in all competitions this season for Atalanta who’re third in Serie A, 5 factors behind league leaders Napoli.
jr/jld/td/nr
