- Atalanta won the Europa League on Wednesday thanks to a magnificent hat-trick by Ademola Lookman.
- Leverkusen were second best all night and lost to an incredible Lookman hatrick, which is just the sixth time a hat-trick has been achieved in a major UEFA final.
- The unstoppable Italians broke their 61-year wait without winning a title.
Atalanta won the Europa League on Wednesday thanks to a magnificent hat-trick by Ademola Lookman, who had trouble making a name for himself at Everton in the Premier League,.
It was just the second major prize in the team’s 117-year existence, and it came after a 3-0 victory against Bayer Leverkusen ended the German champions‘ incredible undefeated run.
Leverkusen were second best all night and lost to an incredible Lookman hatrick, which is just the sixth time a hat-trick has been achieved in a major UEFA final. The unstoppable Italians broke their 61-year wait without winning a cherished title.
Atalanta boss the game early
Ademola Lookman scored a hatrick in the UEFA Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen. Photo/ Sportsnet
The results of Alonso’s selection decisions were completely in vain, as Gasperini’s Atalanta team dominated play right away and smothered the Bundesliga winners with a well-run press.
When former Chelsea full-back Davide Zappacosta brought the ball back into the six-yard box and crossed, Lookman caught Palacios dozing, got goal-side of the Leverkusen midfielder, and tapped home to reward the Italians for their incredible start.
With the exception of a goal from semi-final star Josip Stanisic in the 19th minute that dropped right at Juan Musso’s feet, Leverkusen’s attempts to thread together a build-up sequence were fruitless.
In the twenty-fifth minute, Lookman made history when Leverkusen conceded a cheap goal inside their own half. The Nigerian international skillfully nutmegged Granit Xhaka and struck the far corner from 20 yards.
By accomplishing this, Lookman made history as the first male African player to score more than one goal in a major UEFA final. Despite their penchant for incredible comebacks, Leverkusen was unable to manufacture a response before halftime, thus Atalanta could not relax.
Leverkusen had drew three and won one of their four games this season in which they trailed by two goals before their trip to Dublin, so it was not surprising when Boniface came on for Stanisic at halftime.
Bayern Leverkusen had most of the possession in the first part of the second half, but the German champions still struggled with their last pass and were further hindered by a string of subpar set-pieces.
Give credit where credit is due to Atalanta for their resolute rearguard play and unrelenting pressure; when the 75-minute mark arrived, their hat-trick hero gave them the strongest possible hold on the championship.
Once more, Leverkusen’s careless play inside the Atalanta half made them their own worst enemies. Gianluca Scamacca spearheaded the counterattack, and the Italy striker then laid off Lookman, who moved the ball to his left, ducked past Edmond Tapsoba, and finished a fantastic treble with an arrow.
The UEFA Europa League final loss ended Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten record this season. Photo/ ESPN
When the VAR room rejected a reasonably strong protest for a Leverkusen penalty in the ninetieth minute, Atalanta players started the celebrations by throwing Lookman into the air.
With the win, Gasperini’s personal two-decade long quest for significant silverware came to an end as his team completely outplayed the powerful Leverkusen team led by Xabi Alonso, after going an astounding 51 games without a loss.
Nevertheless, Atalanta gave their opponents no chance to celebrate their maiden European final triumph, just as they had done in the previous two rounds against Premier League heavyweights Liverpool and three-time finalists Olympique de Marseille.
As they get ready for Saturday’s DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern, a stunned Leverkusen can still finish the campaign with a domestic double. Meanwhile, champion Atalanta still has two Serie A matches left to play, against Torino on May 26 and Fiorentina on June 2, before the real party can start.
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