At the beginning of the year, Atalanta were among the main candidates for the Scudetto, fighting with Napoli and Inter Milan for the Serie A top spot. However, at the moment, seven rounds before the end of the season, the Goddess is only third, having seriously jeopardized its UCL position after suffering a third straight defeat.After losing to the Nerazzurri at home and Fiorentina on the road, Atalanta fell short against Lazio in Bergamo (1-0), though things could have been much different if it wasn’t for a bizarre sub conundrum.It’s not just goal but work of art made by Senegalese-born striker (VIDEO)The Goddess entered the last quarter of an hour being a goal down, and its boss, Gian Piero Gasperini, prepared two fresh players from the bench, Lazar Samardzic and Daniel Maldini. Yet, many were shocked upon seeing #11 on the fourth referee’s board. After all, why would the experienced tactician sub out one of his primary attacking firepowers, Ademola Lookman?According to Corriere dello Sport, it happened due to an unbelievable misunderstanding.Namely, Gasperini wanted to enhance the offence and replace midfielder Ederson with forward Samardzic. Nevertheless, Atalanta’s team manager reportedly heard Ade [Ademola Lookman’s nickname] instead of Ede [Ederson’s nickname] and the Nigerian ended up out of the pitch!😬 Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini had an awkward moment in their 1-0 loss to Lazio yesterday… He accidentally subbed off Ademola Lookman. 🤦♂️There was confusion between “Ade” and “Ede” — the manager actually wanted to sub off Ederson, not Lookman. 🗞️ @SkySport pic.twitter.com/qkvcDeyIJT— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Football__Tweet) April 7, 2025 The Goddess’s manager was fuming – who wouldn’t be? – and did replace Ederson three minutes later for Marco Brescianini, but the damage had already been done, and Atalanta eventually lost the game.Speaking to DAZN after the match, Gasperini admitted the peculiar error.”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 strategist revealed via Football Italia.As odd as it is, this example teaches us that the people around a football team involved in a game are as error-prone as everybody else and that bizarre situations like this can happen even with world-class clubs.##NAJAVA_MECA_8842507##
