Atalanta striker, Ademola Lookman, wrote his name in the history books with the hat-trick he scored in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, Wednesday (22/5/2024) local time. Ademola Lookman scored three goals in the Europa League final of Atalanta vs Bayer Leverkusen which took place at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
The Charlton academy graduate scored his goals in the 12th, 26th and 75th minutes of the match against the Bundesliga champions. Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick ended Bayer Leverkusen’s streak of 51 matches without defeat.
His contribution succeeded in making Atalanta become the first Italian club to win the Europa League. Prior to this, Atalanta had always lost all three of their finals under coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the most recent being against Juventus in the Coppa Italia final.
The advantage of La Dea, nicknamed Atalanta, started with Teun Koopmainers’ pass. Davide Zappacosta immediately took the ball and sent a pass to Lookman who escaped Exequiel Palacios’ control. Lookman then threw the ball into Bayer Leverkusen’s goal which was guarded by goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
The Nigerian player put his name on the scoreboard again 14 minutes later. Bayer Leverkusen’s mistake when passing the ball was exploited by Atalanta. Lookman got the ball and rounded Granit Xhaka on the edge of the penalty box before firing a shot into the corner of the goal. Leverkusen conceded for the third time in the 75th minute, again through Lookman’s feet.
Ademola Lookman became the first player to score a hat trick in a UEFA competition final since Jupp Heynckes for Borussia Moenchengladbach in the 1975 UEFA Cup final. Meanwhile, only four players have ever scored a hat trick in a Champions League final and all of them came before the modern era.
“One of the greatest nights of my life,” Lookman said on TNT Sports. “Amazing performance from the team. I have no more words. Fantastic.” This Nigerian player had an uncertain career before joining Atalanta. He bounced around bottom of the Premier League clubs on loan spells at Fulham and Leicester after being dumped by RB Leipzig. However, Lookman has found a home in Bergamo, where he will forever be a hero.
