Diego Simeone Delivers Verdict on Ademola Lookman After Poor Miss vs Arsenal
- Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone applauded Ademola Lookman’s performance against Arsenal
- Lookman passed a late fitness test, overcoming his adductor issue to start, and he completed the full 90 minutes
- The Super Eagles forward missed a glorious chance to give Atletico the lead and win the game in the 75th minute
Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has applauded Ademola Lookman’s performance against Arsenal, despite an unbelievable miss.
Arsenal and Atletico Madrid settled for a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
Source: Getty Images
Viktor Gyokeres scored for Arsenal from the penalty spot in the first half, and Julian Alvarez scored for Atletico in the second half, also from the penalty spot.
The result sets up an interesting second-leg encounter at the Emirates Stadium in London, with both teams aiming for the final and having a chance to win their first-ever trophy.
Simeone praises Lookman's game
Ademola Lookman passed a late fitness test to start the match and completed the 90 minutes, despite not having played since the Copa del Rey final loss to Real Sociedad.
Simeone’s update on the Super Eagles forward before the match claimed that he was still in discomfort; however, he surprisingly completed the match instead of the usual 60 minutes.
Lookman missed a glorious chance to give Atletico the lead in the second half with the score at 1-1, playing a left-footed shot directly into the arms of David Raya.
Simeone, despite this miss, claimed he loved how Lookman played. He particularly cited the defensive aspect of his game, an area in which Simeone has called for improvement since Lookman arrived.
“I loved Lookman’s game; we’re getting an important player to understand that his defensive work helps us,” he said as quoted by Marca.
Simeone hit back at the claims that Atletico Madrid were lucky to come out with a draw, as they could have lost if Arsenal had been awarded a second-half penalty.
The Argentine claimed that his side was not lucky and was the better side in the decisive moments of the game, stating that they could have walked out with a win.
“I don’t believe in luck, I believe in decisiveness. The first half was even, maybe they were better with the ball but didn’t create many chances,” he said as quoted by Into the Calderon.
Source: Getty Images
“They have a very strong squad, their substitutes came on and were better than the starters. Even so, in the second half we were better than them.
“They dropped their intensity and we improved our organisation. We were better at the back and created chances through Griezmann and Lookman.”
Mikel Arteta’s side remains confident of progressing to the next round when they play at the Emirates Stadium in London, where they will have the support of their home fans.
Why VAR overturned Arsenal's penalty
Legit.ng previously explained why VAR overturned Arsenal’s penalty in the second half when David Hancko fouled Eberechi Eze in the box.
Referee Daniel Makkelie initially pointed to the spot, but after a lengthy VAR check, he overturned it due to a lack of sufficient contact on the foul.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
