Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run ended 3-0 by Atalanta and Lookman hat trick in Europa League final
Atalanta's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
DUBLIN (AP) — Spoiler alert.
Atalanta winger Ademola Lookman was unstoppable and Bayer Leverkusen’s impossible dream of completing an entire season unbeaten with a hat trick of titles proved to be just that.
Instead, Lookman was the hat trick hero in Atalanta’s 3-0 win over Leverkusen in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
It was a beating few saw coming for the new German champion whose European record unbeaten run was stopped at 51 games by a team that had won 3-0 in Liverpool in the quarterfinals.
Lookman, the London-born Nigeria international, was ruthless punishing big errors by Leverkusen players to score twice in the first 26 minutes of a game where the favorites never looked at ease. He capped his solo show with an arrowing shot in the 75th.
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
“It’s one of the best nights of my life," said the 26-year-old Lookman, who was loaned out and then sold by both Everton and Leipzig before finding the club that fully appreciated him. “I've always had the confidence.”
In any normal season, or a typical European final, Atalanta and its veteran coach Gian Piero Gasperini would be the feel-good soccer story.
What is not to love for neutral fans in the big-money Super League era? A well-run club from a small provincial city playing attractive soccer on a modest budget for a loyal coach to lift its first top-level trophy for 61 years.
Instead, it fell to Atalanta to play the bad guy and stop Leverkusen’s shot at European soccer immortality.
“There is still scope for meritocracy and ideas and not cold hard numbers and Super Leagues,” said Gasperini, noting — on the day his former club Inter Milan had a forced change of owner due to financial turmoil — that Atalanta succeeded in turning a profit.
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso must now lift his players for the German Cup final on Saturday. They will start as heavy favorite to beat second-tier Kaiserslautern in the Olympic Stadium, Berlin.
“It has been quite exceptional what we have achieved. Today it is painful,” Alonso said.
As the minutes ticked down in Dublin, he finally watched his team lose standing still and alone in front of the team dugout. He alternated between pushing his hands deep in the pockets of his slim-fit black jeans, then folding his arms.
A few meters away, a sprightly 66-year-old Gasperini — his black rain jacket zipped high against the evening chill — was dancing with his players and staff in anticipation of the final whistle.
Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso gestures during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Alonso’s big selection call Wednesday was to prefer Exequiel Palacios in midfield, over Robert Andrich, but the 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina was at fault for the opening goal.
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman scores his side's second goal during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Palacios, defending the far post, was utterly unaware of Lookman behind him when a ball across the goalmouth from Davide Zappacosta eluded everyone. Lookman darted in on Palacios’ blind side to score with a rising shot.
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman, bottom right, scores the opening goal of his team during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
It was 2-0 in the 26th when Leverkusen yet again gave away the ball in the heart of its own half. Amine Adli’s aimless header back toward his own defense bounced to Lookman.
The former Everton player eluded Granit Xhaka’s tackle and curled his right-footed shot into the corner of the net beyond goalkeeper Matěj Kovář diving to his left.
Atalanta fans cheer holding a banner that depicts Atalanta's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini before the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
It was the fourth time Leverkusen had trailed 2-0 in a Europa League knockout round game since March but its unbeaten run had never seemed more at risk. The season-long flurry of late and stoppage-time goals eluded Leverkusen this time.
Bayer Leverkusen's head coach Xabi Alonso, front, follows the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (Brian Lawless/PA via AP)
Even before the Atalanta goals, fans from Bergamo — outnumbered about 12,000 to 9,000 by Leverkusen’s in the 47,135 crowd — mostly outsang their German counterparts on an overcast and breezy evening in the Irish capital. Among them was the mayor of Bergamo, Giorgio Gori, choosing to sit with fans instead of the VIPs.
The players responded with physical commitment from the opening minutes, harassing Leverkusen out of its typically elegant style with tight marking.
Leverkusen repeatedly gifted Atalanta the ball in its own half and created little. When scoring chances did come, Álex Grimaldo lobbed the ball weakly into the arms of goalkeeper Juan Musso who had advanced off his line, and Jeremie Frimpong’s volleyed shot went high over the goal.
Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong, left, challenges for the ball with Atalanta's Matteo Ruggeri during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Four years ago, Bergamo was among the first and most stricken European cities in the COVID-19 pandemic that hit northern Italy hard.
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman celebrates with family members holding the trophy after his team won the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
“We won't be able to do away with all of that pain,” said Gasperini, who has coached Atalanta since 2016, “but we have managed to put a smile on the Bergamesque people.”
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Ireland Soccer Europa League Final
Atalanta's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman holds the trophy after his team won the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Atalanta's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini gives instructions from the side line during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman scores his side's third goal during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Atalanta fans wave flags before the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Bayer Leverkusen fans cheer prior to the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Atalanta's Ademola Lookman, bottom right, scores the opening of his team during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
Leverkusen's Exequiel Palacios, fights for the ball with Atalanta's Ademola Lookman during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Thursday, May 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
Atalanta's head coach Gian Piero Gasperini gestures during the Europa League final soccer match between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)