‘I did not mean to offend Lookman’ – Gasperini clarifies controversial comment

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has clarified that he did not mean to offend Ademola Lookman after his comments following the team’s UEFA Champions League defeat to Club Brugge on Tuesday.

Lookman, who had been out injured, returned to the team for the match and scored immediately after coming on. However, he later missed a penalty, which led to Gasperini expressing his frustration.

After the 5-2 aggregate loss, Gasperini described Lookman as the worst penalty taker he had ever seen.

Lookman responded to this criticism, feeling disrespected, but Gasperini has since said he never intended to upset the Nigerian forward.

He explained: “Lookman felt offended, but I didn’t want to offend anyone. He came on with a fantastic attitude against Club Brugge. If he works on his penalty-taking, with his exceptional skills, Ademola can become our first-choice penalty taker.”

Atalanta are currently third in Serie A and will play Empoli this Sunday.