Following Gian Piero Gasperini's harsh criticism of Ademola Lookman for his penalty miss in Atalanta's crucial UEFA Champions League tie against Club Brugge, some sports pundits have lashed out at the Italian tactician for his poor handling of the situation.

Gasperini did not hold back in his reaction to Lookman's miss during his post-match interview, labeling the 27-year-old as one of the worst penalty takers he has ever seen.

Despite scoring just 40 seconds after coming on as a second-half substitute, Gasperini was visibly incensed by Lookman's decision to take over the penalty duties from Charles De Ketelaere and Mateo Retegui.

“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty; he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” Gasperini said in a post-match interview.

“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, converting very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman, in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring, decided to take the ball, and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all,” the 66-year-old concluded.

In a post-match analysis on CBS Sports Golazo, the pundits slammed Gasperini for publicly criticizing the reigning African Footballer of the Year.

They crew believes the veteran Italian manager should have handled the situation with more tact, rather than throwing the player, who has been crucial to the team's recent success, under the bus.

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Atalanta crashed out of the competition after losing 3-1 at the Gewiis Stadium to Club Brugge. The Belgium Pro League outfit qualified 5-2 on aggregate having won the first leg by two goals to one.

WDN