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Italian football pundit Alfredo Pedullà has launched a scathing attack on Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini for publicly criticizing Ademola Lookman following the club’s elimination from the Champions League, Footynaija.com reports.
Atalanta’s European journey came to an abrupt end after they were beaten 5-2 on aggregate by Club Brugge in the playoffs. Lookman found the net in the second leg, but his side slumped to a 3-1 home defeat, sealing their exit from the competition.
However, the main controversy of the night unfolded when Lookman saw his penalty saved by former Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Instead of addressing his team’s defensive frailties—having conceded five goals across both legs—or discussing captain Rafael Toloi’s costly red card, Gasperini turned his post-match frustration toward Lookman.
Gasperini: “Ademola Lookman is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 18, 2025
“He wanted to take the penalty after scoring a goal, he took the ball despite Retegui and De Keteleare available to take it… I didn’t like what Lookman did”. pic.twitter.com/ieivtPMaL5
In his analysis on Sportitalia, Pedullà pulled no punches as he dissected the tension between Gasperini and Lookman, which had been simmering long before the Champions League exit.
Pedullà suggested that Lookman’s issues with Gasperini were not new but had been brewing since last summer, despite the club’s historic Europa League triumph.
“Let’s be clear, the cycle was already over last summer after the Europa League victory,” Pedullà stated as per Tutto Atalanta. “Lookman wanted to leave on August 18th. The reality is that things were never quite right between him and Gasperini.
“Lookman stayed, perhaps with some unofficial contractual adjustments, but that dissatisfaction never went away. Now, we find ourselves in this situation: Lookman wants to leave at the end of the season, and Gasperini, probably, will leave too.”
‘You can’t destroy a player like Lookman’ – Pedullà
The outspoken pundit did not hold back in his criticism of Gasperini’s handling of the situation, accusing him of crossing a line.
“I know Gasperini well, I’ve followed him since his time at Crotone,” Pedullà continued. “He’s a coach who deserves an 11 out of 10 for his tactical ability—nobody questions that.
“But there’s a line that should never be crossed. You can’t publicly destroy a player like Lookman, who helped you win the Europa League by scoring a hat-trick in the final. You can’t stand in front of the media and say he’s ‘one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen.’ That’s unacceptable.”
Pedullà emphasized Lookman’s significance to Atalanta, both on and off the pitch. “Lookman is an idol in Bergamo, the African Player of the Year, a symbol of this team. And you treat him like he’s just another expendable player? That’s not just wrong—it’s dangerous for the dressing room and for the club’s reputation.”
— Ademola Lookman (@Alookman_) February 19, 2025
Pedullà also pointed out that the missed penalty was far from the decisive factor in Atalanta’s Champions League exit.
“Let’s be honest, the problem wasn’t the missed penalty. The problem was that Atalanta conceded three goals in the first half. They looked defensively vulnerable, completely open at the back. Three goals in 45 minutes, and yet nobody is talking about that,” he said.
“In Belgium, they are still celebrating—it’s practically a national holiday for Club Brugge. And yet, instead of focusing on how his team collapsed, Gasperini chooses to blame Lookman for a missed penalty when they were already 3-1 down. This is a classic deflection tactic. You always look for a scapegoat, but the real issues run much deeper. Atalanta played a terrible game, and the penalty miss had little to do with their elimination.”
Lookman’s Atalanta legacy
Ademola Lookman was the hero of Atalanta’s historic UEFA Europa League triumph last season, scoring a sensational hat-trick in the final as the Italian club secured a 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
He became the first African player to score a hat-trick in a European final and was later crowned African Footballer of the Year—only the seventh Nigerian to win the prestigious award.
That continental triumph also the first major trophy of Gasperini’s career, making his public criticism of Lookman all the more baffling.
