Nigeria international Ademola Lookman made history in Dublin as Serie A underdogs Atalanta shattered Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to win the 2023/24 Europa League title, MySportDab reports.
A shocking first half saw Atalanta go two goals up before the half-hour. The invincible Bayer Leverkusen seemed to had lost their magic trying to get off the fever-pitch press by the Serie A side to get the ball to wide areas.
Coming under intense pressure from the Gasperini-led side, they struggled with misplaced passes and lost balls.
Atalanta then capped an impressive and clinical start, drawing the first blood in just 12 minutes into proceedings after the Die Werkself were caught out in their own half.
Koopmeiners had found Zappacosta, who droved into the box before cutting in with a cross for Ademola Lookman, who, left unmarked from the back post, tapped in easily to give Atalanta the lead.
Despite trailing by a lone goal, Bayer Leverkusen could not claw their charges back into the game and continued to struggle to break down Atalanta’s press.
14 minutes after the lead, Lookman dealt a brutal blow to the Bundesliga champions’ comeback hopes when he scored a stunning right-footed effort in the 26th minute to double the lead.
Receiving the ball in between the lines, the Nigeria international stole his way past Xhaka, drove close to the box, and then cut to his right before firing a powerful left-footed finish into the bottom right corner.
Atalanta are 2-0 up inside 30 minutes 👀
Are Bayer Leverkusen about to suffer their first defeat of the season?
📺 Stream the #UELfinal live: https://t.co/B0jLrQWD1K pic.twitter.com/Bi779WiGIa
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 22, 2024
It was an intriguing first half for the Serie A underdogs, who shockingly got the better of the Bundesliga invincibles, thanks to Ademola Lookman’s masterclass.
The second half was no departure from the first. Atalanta kept up with their fever-pitch press, frustrating Bayer Leverkusen’s offensives.
And it was still a deadlock for the Bundesliga champions as they failed to find a way through Atalanta’s solid defense. Alonso made a series of late substitutions to change the trajectory of the game, all to no avail.
15 minutes before regulation time, the Bundesliga history-makers suffered a final blow to their comeback hopes.
Atalanta had won the ball and proceeded on a quick counter led by Scamacca, who found Lookman. Lookman beat a bout of challenge by Tapsoba, drove into the box, and fired a thunderbolt into the roof of the net to bag his hat-trick.
🗣️ "THE NIGHT OF HIS LIFE, THE NIGHT OF HIS DREAMS!"
Ademola Lookman is the first player in history to score a hat-trick in a #UELFinal 👏
Xabi Alonso's face says it all.. pic.twitter.com/Yvn8JD5EnL
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 22, 2024
Lookman’s hat-trick made the difference as Atalanta dealt a double blow to the Bundesliga giants – ending their unbeaten and beating them to the Europa League title.
🗣️ "BERGAMO BULGES WITH PRIDE!"
Peter Drury 🤝 Atalanta lifting the Europa League trophy pic.twitter.com/9JwvXTAOKT
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) May 22, 2024
