After going down 3-0 in the first half, Atalanta crashed out of the Champions League losing 3-1 to Club Brugge (5-2) on aggregate Tuesday. It was a topsy-turvy game that saw Atalanta with a chance to come back after star forward Ademola Lookman was subbed on in the second half and immediately responded by scoring a goal, but after his missed penalty and a red card to defender Rafael Toli for fighting during the game, it all went downhill.
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini wasn’t happy with the penalty revealing that Lookman shouldn’t have taken it following the game.
“He shouldn’t have taken the penalty. He’s one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” Gasperini said. “The penalty takers were [Charles] De Ketelaere and [Mario] Retegui, but apparently [Lookman] was euphoric [after scoring] and then there was this penalty. Someone else could have still missed it but it wasn’t a nice gesture.”
Lookman’s take was with power but he telegraphed it into the right bottom corner of the net making it easy for experienced keeper Simon Mignolet to know where it was going.
Atalanta have missed three of the eight penalties that they’ve taken in all competitions this season with Mario Pasalic, Mateo Retegui and now Lookman missing but those were pointed words from Gasperini. Less than a year removed from scoring a hat trick to win the Europa League final with Atalanta, it now feels like he’s on the outs of the squad.
People taking penalties when they’re not the designated taker is quite normal but for a manager to call his own player one of the worst penalty takers that he’s ever seen isn’t. There’s still plenty to cheer for for Atalanta as they could secure a Champions League spot by finishing in the top four in Serie A but it’s also clear that after their Europa League title last season, they’re no longer happy to just be on the European stage.
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