Ademola Lookman nets hat-trick as Atalanta stun Leverkusen to win Europa League
Ademola Lookman’s stunning hat-trick fired Atalanta to their first silverware since 1963 as Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten season came to an end in the Europa League final.
Lookman, the London-born Nigeria striker who began his career at Charlton, produced two excellent first-half finishes and added a brilliant third 15 minutes from time as Atalanta romped to a 3-0 success in Dublin.
Victory gave Atalanta only the second trophy in their 116-year history, over six decades after the Bergamo side had won the Coppa Italia.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s team had lost to Juventus in the final of the Coppa Italia seven days earlier but they recovered from that setback to knock Leverkusen out of their stride.
And Lookman, once of Everton, Fulham and Leicester, provided the cutting edge to reward a polished all-round performance.
Leverkusen came into the Aviva Stadium showdown fancied to savour more glory in a campaign that has almost defied belief.
Xabi Alonso’s side were on the brink of an invincible season having won the first Bundesliga title in their history.
Leverkusen had gone 51 games unbeaten and were contesting the Europa League final ahead of Saturday’s German Cup showpiece occasion against second-tier Kaiserslautern.
But Leverkusen did not seem prepared for Atalanta’s high press that forced early mistakes and set the tone of the contest.
Granit Xhaka was guilty of losing possession for Matteo Ruggeri to set up a headed opportunity for Gianluca Scamacca.
If that was a clear warning, Leverkusen did not heed it and Atalanta were ahead after 12 minutes.
Teun Koopmeiners pounced on a partially-cleared corner and slipped a delightful pass inside to Davide Zappacosta, who pulled it back into a dangerous area.
The ball travelled across
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