Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the UEFA Europa League. Ademola Lookman scored an outstanding hat-trick, which allowed Atalanta to snap Bayer Leverkusen’s 51-game unbeaten streak.
Ademola Lookman scored all three goals as Atalanta put an end to Bayer Leverkusen’s remarkable 51-game unbeaten streak. This victory also brought Gian Piero Gasperini, who is 66 years old, his first major prize in his lengthy coaching career.
Atalanta won the 2023–24 Europa League, which was a victory that broke the hearts of Bayer Leverkusen and brought a stop to their unbeaten streak of 51 games. After their 3-0 victory in Dublin tonight, they have become the first Italian team to win the Europa League since Parma in 1999. This accomplishment was accomplished.
Ademola Lookman had a remarkable performance, as evidenced by the fact that he scored a magnificent hat-trick. His goals included a deft finish from inside the box, a long-range rocket into the bottom corner, and an explosive finish into the top right corner.
Leverkusen, the reigning German champions, were completely outplayed by Atalanta, who pressed them so effectively that they rendered their ability to play the ball out of defense effectively meaningless. It was a tactical masterclass from Gian Piero Gasperini, who has transformed this Atalanta team from obscurity in the middle of the table to champions of Europe; he has done a fantastic job so far.
The Italian team had a relatively simple night’s work, as Leverkusen did not even come close to performing up to the standard that people had come to expect from them. Unfortunately, Xabi Alonso’s team was unable to establish a foothold in the game.
In the great scheme of things, the fact that Alonso chose not to select a well-known striker like Patrick Schick or Victor Boniface could have been detrimental to their chances of success. It is possible that the evening would have had a significantly different atmosphere if he had chosen one of those two individuals.
Gianluca Scamacca’s header on a cross from Matteo Ruggeri was charged down from point-blank range by Piero Hincapie, and Atalanta gained the lead as a result of their first corner kick not being cleared well.
Ademola Lookman was in space to side-foot into the roof of the goal first-time from eight yards, and he got there before Exequiel Palacios. Davide Zappacosta moved back from the by-line, and Ademola Lookman was in position to do so.
Amine Adli’s misdirected header on a goal kick came to Lookman, who nutmegged Granit Xhaka and curved the right-foot finish into the far bottom corner from the edge of the area. This made the score 2-0. Alex Grimaldo struck a fresh-air drive from the edge of the box, and Scamacca fired over the crossbar. However, Lookman’s goal made it 2-0. In a big UEFA Final, the Nigerian player made history by being the first African player to score two goals.
Grimaldo made another mistake by sending a feeble lob into the arms of Juan Musso, while Charles De Ketelaere’s attempt was smothered following a cross-field Scamacca pass. Both of these instances were a complete and utter failure.
Boniface entered the game for the resumption, however Sead Kolasinac, a defender for Atalanta, had to leave the game due to an injury to his left calf. In order to prevent a tap-in by De Ketelaere on the roll over from the left, Piero Hincapie threw himself in the way. Jeremie Frimpong then volleyed the ball over from 12 yards out.
Musso was alert to pick off a Wirtz dinked pass off the head of Grimaldo at the back post, but Lookman finished off his hat trick just as Bayer Leverkusen were exerting a lot of pressure.
He received from Scamacca, took Edmond Tapsoba with a step-over, and then fired his left foot into the far top corner from a tricky angle. He finished the game with a goal. More history was established as he became the first player in the history of the Europa League Final to score a hat trick.
Wirtz took a shot that was sent directly at Musso, and Patrik Schick’s back-heel flick was deflected over. Atalanta managed to keep the scoreless record intact, as Adam Hlozek’s shot went just wide of the target.
The fact that Leverkusen is known for scoring goals in the last minutes of the game insured that Atalanta would never be completely at ease, even when they were leading by three goals, but even this magnificent team was unable to find a way out of this situation.
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