Atalanta winger Ademola Lookman was unstoppable, dashing Bayer Leverkusen’s hopes of an unbeaten season and a treble of titles. Lookman scored a hat trick in Atalanta’s 3-0 victory over Leverkusen in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
This unexpected defeat ended Leverkusen's European record unbeaten run at 51 games, a streak that included a 3-0 win over Liverpool in the quarterfinals.
London-born Nigerian international Lookman capitalized on major errors by Leverkusen players, scoring twice within the first 26 minutes and completing his hat trick with a precision shot in the 75th minute. The favorites never seemed at ease throughout the match.
In any typical season, Atalanta and their veteran coach Gian Piero Gasperini would be a feel-good story, embodying the success of a well-run club from a small provincial city playing attractive soccer on a modest budget. However, this time they played the role of the spoiler, ending Leverkusen’s quest for European soccer immortality.
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso now faces the challenge of lifting his team for the German Cup final on Saturday, where they are heavily favored to beat second-tier Kaiserslautern at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.
As the final minutes ticked down in Dublin, Alonso watched his team lose, standing alone in front of the dugout, alternating between having his hands in his pockets and folding his arms. Meanwhile, a sprightly 66-year-old Gasperini celebrated with his players and staff.
Alonso’s critical decision to start Exequiel Palacios in midfield over Robert Andrich backfired. Palacios, defending the far post, failed to notice Lookman behind him when Davide Zappacosta's cross eluded everyone. Lookman took advantage and scored with a rising shot.
The second goal came in the 26th minute after Leverkusen gave away the ball in their own half. Amine Adli's errant header landed at Lookman's feet, who then evaded Granit Xhaka's tackle and curled a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Matěj Kovář.
Despite trailing 2-0, a scenario Leverkusen had overcome before in the Europa League knockout rounds, this time they couldn’t stage a comeback. The season-long trend of scoring late and stoppage-time goals failed to materialize, sealing their fate.
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