Lookman of Atalanta nets a breathtaking treble, securing the Europa League trophy and ending Leverkusen's notable unbeaten streak.
Ademola Lookman, a 26-year-old forward, made history by scoring a fantastic hat-trick that led Atalanta to victory, earning him the title of a club legend.
His remarkable performance took place in Dublin, Ireland and marked a significant milestone in his career, which started at Charlton Athletic before moving on to Everton, RB Leipzig, Fulham, and Leicester City, then finally arriving at Atalanta.
Atalanta fans embraced Lookman from the moment he arrived in Bergamo, Italy, and he has already made himself at home there.
"I feel the support from the fans from the first minute I was in Bergamo," Lookman said, as reported by the BBC. "The city of Bergamo gives me a sense of calmness. It's a very calm, relaxed city, and that has helped me a lot with my living style. I'm focused on the important things."
Lookman's goals have been crucial as well. He has scored a staggering 15 for Atalanta in each of his first two seasons with the team, a streak that far surpasses any other in his career so far.
Lookman referred to the victory, in which he scored his hat-trick with all three of his shots on target, as "one of the best nights of my life."
"Amazing performance from the team. We did it. We did it. We did it!" Lookman told TNT Sports after the game.
This victory was especially meaningful for Lookman after he lost the Coppa Italia final last week and the Africa Cup of Nations final with Nigeria in February.
"I'm just happy we won today," a relieved Lookman said. "We're going to celebrate - we made history tonight."
Lookman's transformation since joining Atalanta has left even his manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, amazed.
"We had a senior manager at Atalanta who had worked at Leicester, who saw the opportunity to bring him in and thought he was a possible useful player," the 66-year-old Gasperini, who won his first ever trophy as a manager during this campaign, told the BBC. "Nobody could ever imagine he'd could make this much progress. He wasn't overly prolific in England. I changed his position to a more attacking role. Tonight he achieved something which will remain in the annals of football history - a stunning hat-trick."
However, this wasn't how things were supposed to play out. Most of the focus leading up to Wednesday's final was on Bayer Leverkusen's exceptional season and their 51-game unbeaten run.
The team won the Bundesliga recently, becoming the first team to win the league without losing a game, but this match proved to be too challenging for them.
Late, implausible comebacks have become Leverkusen's trademark during their unbeaten run, but Lookman scored his third goal 15 minutes from time, ending any hopes of Leverkusen fans witnessing another remarkable comeback.
"We were not planning to have a bad day today, but it was not meant to be," Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen's manager, told TNT Sports after the game. "We couldn't cope with many difficult situations because Atalanta demand so much from you.
"The unbeaten run has come to an end, but congratulations to Atalanta. They deserved it. Once they scored the first goal, that gave them a lot of energy. It was not about tactics, today individually they were better and as a team as well."
Although Alonso and Leverkusen ended their season at the semi-final stage in their pursuit of an unbeaten season, they still have the chance to conclude their historic campaign on a high when they face second division Kaiserslautern in the German Cup final.
"We'll learn from that," Alonso said. "It hurts that the defeat comes on a big day but we have another final on Saturday and we will try and learn from today."
Read also:
- Prodigies of sport: Littler's predecessors
- Nagelsmann's announcement: A restless Christmas for national team players
- What sports fans prefer to watch on television
- The calm before the upheaval: Nagelsmann's European Championship plans
Ademola Lookman's hat-trick in football secured Atalanta's victory in the Europa League final, ending Bayer Leverkusen's impressive 51-game unbeaten streak.
Upon securing the Europa League trophy, Lookman expressed his joy, stating that it was one of the best nights of his career and a significant milestone in his football journey.
Source: edition.cnn.com
