A near-speechless Ademola Lookman said he was having ‘one of the best nights of his life’ after inspiring Atalanta to Europa League glory with a stunning hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.
Leverkusen’s incredible 51-match unbeaten run dominated the pre-match discussion, with Xabi Alonso’s men avoiding defeat in every single competition heading into this evening’s contest in Dublin.
But former Charlton and Everton winger Lookman set the Aviva Stadium alight with all three goals in a one-sided final, as Atalanta bounced back from their painful Coppa Italia loss at the hands of Juventus just a week earlier.
Lookman’s sensational hat-trick saw the Nigeria international became the first player in history to find the net three times in a Europa League final. He also became the African player to score twice in the final of a major UEFA competition.
His heroics sealed Atalanta a European trophy for the first time in the club’s 117-year history – and the jubilant scenes among Gian Piero Gasperini’s players at full-time reflected the size of the achievement they had just achieved.
Leverkusen, who stormed to the Bundesliga title with a 17-point lead over Stuttgart, will hope pick themselves up and end their remarkable campaign on a high when they take to the field for the German cup final versus Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
‘One of the best nights of my life,’ a beaming Lookman told TNT Sports shortly after the final whistle.
‘Amazing performance from the team. We did it, we did it, we did it!
‘I’ve not got many words to say but, yeah, fantastic.’
After being on the losing side in both the Coppa Italia and the Africa Cup of Nations finals, it was ‘third time lucky’ for Lookman.
‘Third time lucky. They always say third time lucky! I’m just happy happy we won today. I’m pleased,’ he added.
Asked whether Atalanta will be celebrating in style, he replied: ‘100 per cent, got to celebrate.
‘We made history tonight.’
Analysing Atalanta’s victory for TNT Sports, ex-England and Liverpool striker Peter Crouch said the way Lookman had managed to come back from ‘difficult’ experiences elsewhere was an ‘inspiration’.
‘Honestly, it’s probably an inspiration to many players who maybe lose their way at times, when he’s gone out on loan,’ Crouch said of the London-born forward’s performance.
‘When he might have arrived at Everton, a big club, and thought, “I’m gonna stay in the Premier League and ply my trade here”, and it’s not quite worked out. He’s had to go abroad.
‘It’s been difficult at times for him and lots of players might have been head down.
But he’s got himself out to Atalanta with a manager that wants to work with him, that seems to be able to get the best out of him.
‘And I think it’s a credit to him to be able to bounce back from quite a few knock-backs and return to a Europa League final and be the difference-maker. It’s an incredible story.’
Former Chelsea star Joe Cole, meanwhile, praised Lookman’s perseveranceto come through tough moments and ‘write himself into the history books’.
‘His agent will be feeling in a strong position over negotiations! But what Crouchy said about setbacks and adversity… in the face of adversity can you show bravery,’ Cole added.
‘The football world and outside the football world is riddled with people that say, “Ah, I could have made it but I got an injury”, or, “I want down this road, I went down that road”, but, ultimately, to get to the top in football – and by that I mean becoming a professional footballer – you have to go through adversity.
‘The players that can come through it and even when they get there, not give up and not give up, keep pushing through, that young man there has got that in abundance and that is his reward tonight. Writing himself into the history books.’
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