There was confusion on the Atalanta touchline during a 1-0 loss against Lazio in Serie A on Sunday as Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was mistakenly substituted off in the second half, leaving coach Gian Piero Gasperini furious.
Atalanta lost their third consecutive match on Sunday and extended their winless run at home, where they have not tasted victory since December 22.
To make things worse, La Dea’s star striker, Lookman, was mistakenly subbed off around minute 74.
As reported by Corriere dello Sport, Gasperini wanted to make an attacking substitution, replacing Ederson with Lazar Samardzic.
The Italian tactician reportedly told the team manager to take out Ederson, calling him ‘Ede’, but he was misunderstood as the Atalanta staff member thought Gasperini said ‘Ade’, standing for Ademola Lookman.
Gasperini only realised there had been a misunderstanding when he saw Lookman’s number on the electronic board and could do nothing to avoid his substitution.
Ederson was still replaced four minutes later, making room for Marco Brescianini.
Gasperini had previously subbed off Italy international Mateo Retegui, who looked visibly unhappy on the Atalanta bench.
“There was a mistake. Only Retegui was subbed to come off,” Gasp told DAZN after the game.
“Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding between ‘Ede’ [Ederson] and ‘Ade’ [Lookman] and we paid a high price for it.”
Football Italia
