Atalanta coach Gian Gasperini has admitted that Ademola Lookman was mistakenly replaced against Lazio due to a misunderstanding between his teammates.
The Super Eagles star was replaced by Lazar Samardžić in the 74th minute of the encounter which Atalanta lost 1-0.
The Italian manager has now revealed that Lookman was substituted in error, causing confusion on the pitch between the players.
He said: “There was a mistake. Only Retegui was subbed to come off.
“Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding between ‘Ede’ [Ederson] and ‘Ade’ [Lookman] and we paid a high price for it.”
The Atalanta team manager misunderstood Gasperini’s instructions, replacing Lookman instead of Ederson.
Atalanta have now lost their last three matches against Inter, Fiorentina and Lazio without scoring.
Gasperini believes the talks of their collapse has been exaggerated as their title hopes begin to fade.
He said: “I believe the team put in a solid performance against a tough opponents. Judgements are always based on the result, which doesn’t reflect how the game actually went.
“There are seven games remaining. We can still achieve what we didn’t manage in the last three games if we play with the same intensity, spirit and desire to get a result. In football, you have to accept moments like this and respond. Everything is still possible.
“There’s nothing to fault in terms of players’ efforts and performance.
“It wasn’t easy to keep Lazio under control for so long and put in a similar display. We’ve been struggling to score lately, and when opponents score on their first chance, the whole game is compromised. It’s hard to accept, but this is football.”
Super Eagles star Fisayo Dele-Bashiru played a key role in Atalanta’s defeat by assisting Gustav Isaksen for the winning goal in the 54th minute.
Atalanta are yet to win a home game in the Serie A in 2025.
