Ademola Lookman: Ex Liverpool Star Names 3 People to Blame After Penalty Incident

• Ademola Lookman and Gian Piero Gasperini fell out publicly after Atalanta’s Champions League elimination
• The player fired back at his manager's criticism after he missed a decisive penalty during the defeat to Club Brugge
• A former Premier League star has weighed into the situation and named those guilty for how the incident turned

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A former Premier League defender has shared his thoughts about Ademola Lookman and Gian Piero Gasperini's fallout and apportioned blame to the right persons.

Atalanta were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League after a 5-2 aggregate loss to Club Brugge and despite playing 45 minutes, Lookman became the face of the defeat.

The Super Eagles star missed the first leg through injury. He returned for the second leg and entered in the second half. Lookman made an instant impact with a goal within 36 seconds.

However, things turned upside down after he missed a penalty, which many deludedly believed would give Atalanta a way back into a tie. They would have needed three more goals to progress.

Gasperini lashed Lookman at his post-match conference for taking the penalty off the designated penalty taker and labelled him as the worst taker he's ever seen.

There was a bit of silence from the reigning African Footballer of the Year, but he dropped a bombshell with a statement on social media, confirming the designated taker told him to play.

Steve Nicol defends Lookman

Former Liverpool defender Steve Nicol has backed Ademola Lookman over the incident with Gasperini and explained how the manager should have acted instead.

Nicol claimed that the first man Gasperini should have attacked was the designated penalty taker and asked him questions on why he refused to take responsibility and take the kick.

He added that the captain should have been questioned for not being the coach's voice and ensuring his teammates stuck to the plan of what was agreed by the coach and team.

“Quite honestly, the only person who is innocent to me is Lookman himself because if the guy who’s meant to take it doesn’t take it, somebody else has to take it, so Lookman said I’ll take it,” he told ESPN UK.

“Lookman’s actually an innocent bystander here. It’s the guy who was supposed to take it (De Ketelaere) and the captain on the field (Tolói).”

He further said that the manager had a lot of time to deal with the situation instead of the emotional outburst during the post-match conference which escalated the incident.

According to Football Italia, the captain Rafael Toloi was sent off in the closing stages of the match for slapping the ball at an opponent’s face and pushing him to the group.

Gasperini spoke about it briefly during the post-match conference, even less than he spoke about Lookman, who took responsibility for a high-risk penalty.

Atalanta fans send message to Lookman

Legit.ng reported that Atalanta fans sent a message to Lookman after Gasperini laid into the Nigerian attacker after he missed a penalty against Club Brugge.

The fans sided with the player who won them the UEFA Europa League and told him never to be scared of taking another penalty despite the manager's comments.