The Athletic’s West Ham United correspondent Roshane Thomas has recently made a claim on Fabian Balbuena regarding Ademola Lookman’s penalty miss.
During the 1-0 victory for the Hammers at the London Stadium, Balbuena played the full 90 minutes for David Moyes’ side (per WhoScored).
For his performance in the clash, the Paraguayan defender picked up an impressive 7.45/10 match rating, which made him their fourth-best performer on the day.
During the clash, the Irons were only able to secure the three points as Lookman missed a last-minute spot-kick after trying a Panenka-style penalty (per BBC).
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas discussed the penalty miss and how Balbuena consoled Lookman after his failed spot-kick.
He said: “[Lookman] thought, ‘Let me just try and be like Andrea Pirlo, let me just try and be like him.’
“You know what, it’s so bad because I’m pretty sure [Lukasz] Fabianski dived, and then he had time to get back up and then save it, so, it was really bad.
“What really took the biscuit for me was when Fabian Balbuena, he actually hugged Lookman because he felt so sorry for him.”
TIF Thoughts on what Roshane Thomas said about Fabian Balbuena and Ademola Lookman…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, West Ham’s £7.2m-rated Paraguayan consoled Fulham’s attacker after his last-minute penalty miss against the Irons.
Are you pleased to hear that Fabian Balbuena consoled Ademola Lookman?
No, I'm not bothered
Yes, it's good to hear
Following the missed spot-kick, Lookman’s manager Scott Parker aired his fury by stating that he was “disappointed and angry” with what the English attacker had done (per BBC).
The winger also took to social media to apologise for his penalty and he also stated that he took ‘full responsibility’ for it.
So, while it seems that those in the Fulham camp were frustrated with the miss, it is good to hear that Balbuena was considerate enough to offer the player some consolation.