Atalanta's Nigeria forward Ademola
Lookman said he was hurt on Wednesday after coming under stiff
criticism from coach Gian Piero Gasperini for wanting to take a
penalty, which he subsequently failed to convert, in Tuesday's
3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in the playoffs for a place in the
Champions League last 16.
The Bergamo side crashed out of the competition 5-2 on aggregate
after losing the first leg in Belgium 2-1.
Down 3-0 on the night, Lookman scored soon after coming on as a
substitute at the start of the second half to give the Europa
League champions' hope of making a comeback.
But his failure from the spot kick in the 61st minute knocked
the wind out of the home side.
After the match, Gasperini said Lookman shouldn't have stepped
up as he is not good at taking spot kicks in training and the
team's two regular penalty-takers, Charles De Ketelaere and
Mateo Retegui, were both on the field.
"It saddens me to have to write this today, especially because
of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city,"
Lookman said via Instagram.
"Being targeted in the way I have been not only hurts me, it
also sounds deeply disrespectful, especially given the immense
hard work and effort I have always put in every day to help
bring success to this club and the incredible Bergamo fans".
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