Lookman sets Dublin alight and makes Atalanta history

Ademola Lookman’s lift-off finally brings Xabi Alonso down to earth.

- MIGUEL DELANEY

A player once hailed as one for the future prevented history being made, as Bayer Leverkusen were finally defeated for the first time this season. Atalanta, instead, fully relished the moment as they won the Europa League for just the second trophy in their history, and the first in six decades.

It was a gloriously fitting reward for one of the most admirable football clubs on the continent over the last decade, and what European competition is meant to be about. That was what was supposed to be said about Alonso’s Leverkusen, and it was always going to take an incredible performance to overshadow the most sought-after manager in the world this season. That’s exactly what Lookman provided, scoring every goal in this emphatic 3-0 win in which Atalanta never faltered. Lookman certainly didn’t. It was a hat-trick of the most divine and varied quality, to give the club’s legendary manager Gian Piero Gasperini the first trophy his adventurous career deserved.

The trophy-clinching third goal was maybe the pick, as Lookman drove the ball into the top corner of the net. It was also crucial because of the wider strands that have enriched the story of this Leverkusen season. They were chasing the first-ever unbeaten European season and a treble, with so many of the results from the 51-game run having been sensational comebacks which just seemed to propel their emotional momentum.

Atalanta’s 2-0 lead was actually the fourth time Leverkusen had fallen behind to that exact score in their seven Europa League knock-out games. They always found a way back, until Lookman kept finding the net.