John Terry’s slip in the 2008 Champions League final shootout, Simone Zaza’s bizarre run-up and miss for Italy against Germany at Euro 2016 and now Ademola Lookman’s fluffed Panenka-style spot kick.
The Fulham forward’s dreadful attempt with the last kick of the game in the 1-0 defeat at West Ham is up there with some of the worst penalties seen in recent years.
His chipped effort lacked power, dropping tamely into Lukasz Fabianski’s hands.
Understandably, Cottagers boss Scott Parker was not best pleased afterwards, having seen his team fail to rescue a point having conceded a Tomas Soucek strike in the 91st minute.
Ademola Lookman’s penalty miss at 0-1 down at 90+8 pic.twitter.com/ucStZFMrAs
— Tom (@tdnightingale) November 7, 2020
“I’m disappointed and angry,” Parker told Match of the Day. “You can’t take penalties like that and he knows that. He’s a young player and he’s learning.”
The Fulham boss added: “The boy has made a mistake. Ade is the first to understand that. When you’re young and you’re learning you have to learn quick. He is disappointed and rightly so. This is part and parcel of football, of growing as players and as a team. We’ll get around him now.”
Lookman has impressed since joining the Cottagers on loan from RB Leipzig at the end of the transfer window, scoring a fine solo goal against Sheffield United.
“Ade has been fantastic since he’s been in,” said Parker. “He’ll need to dust himself down. When you’re young you make mistakes.”
The 23-year-old had his head in his hands as the referee blew the whistle shortly afterwards and looked devastated as he was consoled by his team-mates.
“Ademola is devastated, apologetic,” said Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney.
“He’s a young man who has had a good start here and is a big player for us. We’ll get around him and pick him up, he knows he could have got us a point.”
Midfielder Harrison Reed added: “He has apologised so we will brush it under the carpet and move on. He’s gutted in there, we all are.”
