Nigeria's Ademola Lookman has continued to grab the headlines in Italy for his outstanding performances in the Blue and Black colours of Atalanta.
Ahead of the top of the table clash in Serie A where defending champions Inter Milan take on third-place Atalanta, former Italian international Christian Vieri has singled out Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman for praise.
The former Italy striker who played for the likes of Inter Milan, Juventus and AC Milan shared with Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia) his thoughts on Nigeria winger Ademola Lookman.
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Reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman has enjoyed a rich vein of form at La Dea under Gian Gasperini, and his stock has been on an upward trajectory since he bagged a hat-trick in the 2023-2024 UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.
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This season, Lookman has scored 13 goals and added 5 assists in 22 league games so far. Across all competitions, the former Everton player has bagged 18 goals and 7 assists in 31 games, including strikes against Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, and AC Milan.
What Christian Vieri said about Lookman
When asked about Lookman’s quality, Christian Vieri began to wax lyrical, praising the Nigerian’s dribbling and shooting skills.
He said: “You watch him and think, ‘Oh, let’s see what he does now.’ There’s no one like him in Serie A: every time he gets the ball, he goes one-on-one, always. He’s fast and strong; he takes players on, dribbles, and shoots. Left foot or right foot, it doesn’t matter.”
Christian Vieri was also quizzed on what his response would have been if he had been labelled the worst penalty taker like Gasperini did to Lookman.
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In his response, the former Juventus striker said, “He couldn’t have, because it wasn’t true”
“I always say that you should take a penalty if you feel like it. And if a teammate comes over and says, ‘I feel it,’ it’s fair to let him. The only ones who miss penalties are those who take them, and if you miss once, so be it.”
Who will win Serie A? - Christian Vieri shares his thoughts
The tight title race in Serie A is a very tight one. Third-place Atalanta are three points behind league leaders Inter who are ahead of second-place Napoli by a single point. Inter and Atalanta clash on Sunday and the result of that game will be crucial to how things might pan out in the league.
However, 51-year-old Christian Vieri is of the opinion that although the crunch tie is an important game, it won't decide anything.
“After this, there are nine more matches, right? It’s not absolutely, absolutely, absolutely decisive, but it’s extremely important, Christian Vieri said.
“The title race isn’t just between two teams, and Napoli are playing away at Venezia. If Atalanta win, those would be three very, very heavy points, even for Napoli.”
Christian Vieri has now thrown his weight behind his former club Inter Milan to go all the way both in retaining the Scudetto and winning the UEFA Champions League.
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“On TV, I said the Barça-PSG final because I don’t want to jinx Inter, and if I say Inter, I’ll jinx them.”
“But now I can say it. Inter have everything to win both the league and the Champions League. They have two real players, not just decent ones, for each position, and not every club in Europe has such a deep squad,” he said.
Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta will host Inter Milan on Sunday while second-place Napoli battle Venezia away from home the same day. Results from both games will play a major role in where the pendulum swings in the race for the Scedutto.