Ademola Lookman’s lift-off finally brings Xabi Alonso down to earth. A player once hailed as one for the future prevented history being made for Bayer Leverkusen, who 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. That was from Lookman becoming the first player since 1975 to score a hat-trick in a European final, for an emphatic 3-0 win.
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 a victory where 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.
