Nigeria international winger Ademola Lookman had a night to remember in Dublin with a glorious hat-trick that ended Bayer Leverkusen’s season-long unbeaten run in the Europa League final.
Lookman’s Atalanta were the underdogs facing the newly-crowned German champions, who had been undefeated in 51 games, and whose coach Xabi Alonso’s star has been steadily on the rise as he was sought after by European giants with managerial vacancies including Bayern Munich and Liverpool. In the end, Alonso may have blotted his copybook last night by not starting Lookman’s international teammate and Bundesliga Rookie of the Year, striker Victor Boniface.
But the night belonged to Lookman with a Man of the Match performance, starting with a neat side-foot finish with his left after 12 minutes from an assist from Davide Zappacosta. Things just got better for Lookman as the 26 year old was brimming with confidence following a season in which he scored 20 goals in 57 games, taking in two finals in which he finished second best for club and country before last night – the Italian Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations. He made sure it was third time lucky in Dublin as each goal got better than the one before.
The second of the night came on the 26th minute as Lookman cut inside Leverkusen captain Granit Xhaka to unleash an unstoppable curler.
After the break, Alonso threw in Boniface but the Nigerian striker never got a look in on a night that belonged to Lookman. The hat-trick was delivered with a flourish, first came a stepover to bamboozle the Leverkusen defender and then a left-footer hit with such venom that it flew into the net before goalie Matej Kovar could react.
Alonso looked to another Nigeria Nathan Tella with 10 minutes left in a vain attempt to revive his team’s hopes but Tella made little impact on Leverkusen’s right from where Lookman had tormented them all night.
It was the game of Lookman’s career as he became the first to score a hat-trick in the Europa League, delivering Atalanta’s first European trophy in the process. He called it “one of the best nights of my life”. His teammates didn’t disagree as they celebrated by throwing him up in the air. Coach Gian Piero Gasperini said of the tricky winger born in South London: “Nobody imagined that he would make this much progress. He wasn’t overly prolific in England. I played him in a more attacking role. This season he has had a great year. Tonight he achieved something that will remain in the annals of footballing history – a stunning hat-trick.”
The party in Dublin by the Italians afterwards was also likely to go down in history.
