Atalanta Manager Justifies Why He Subs Ademola Lookman Against AC Milan

Atalanta manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, has defended his choice to substitute Nigerian international, Ademola Lookman, during their 3-2 victory over AC Milan.

During the game last Saturday, Ademola Lookman scored two goals and was arguably the most outstanding player on the pitch.

The 26-year-old Nigeria international scored his first goal of the match in the 38th minute and grabbed his second of the game in the 55th minute. This means that the forward has now scored 6 goals in 15 league games so far this season.

Most fans of Atalanta expected Lookman to score his first hat-trick in the club shirt, but the club’s coach had a different idea, and he replaced him with Luis Muriel in the 82nd minute.

Hence, immediately after it was confirmed that the Nigerian forward had been substituted, the spectators booed the coach for the decision.

In an interview with TuttoSport, Gasperini justified his decision and praised Muriel, who scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time.

Gasperini, who hailed the performance of Ademola Lookman, added that the Nigerian would be an unstoppable force if he played as brilliantly in every game as he did against Milan.

The coach said: “Replacement of Lookman? There were some whistles but Muriel was great at turning them into applause.

“He scored an extraordinary goal; next time we’ll think twice about booing him. He often scores these goals in training; I’m very happy for him.”

The coach added: “Did Lookman say that he has never worked so hard? He never did anything then (laughs).

“He can’t play every game like he does tonight otherwise he would be a monster. You have to understand that days aren’t always good and that you have to make yourself available to the team: I think he’s a good guy.”