Atalanta Win Europa League, Snap Leverkusen’s Undefeated Run
Italian side Atalanta are champions of the Europa League after defeating German powerhouse Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin, Ireland. The men from Bergamo were powered to the victory by a spectacular hat-trick from left winger Ademola Lookman. The Nigerian international, formerly of Everton and RB Leipzig, scored all three goals in the game. All of them were beauties as well.
Lookman’s first goal came from a driving run from wing-back Davide Zappacosta who darted toward the touchline before pulling back a cross begging to be slammed into the net. Lookman sprinted toward the cross and slammed it into the roof of the net with his left foot from about ten yards. He cut across the face of Leverkusen midfielder Exequiel Palacios who looked on helplessly as Lookman drove home the game's opening goal. For his follow-up act and show-stopper, Lookman demonstrated elite, modern, inverted wing play. For his second goal, Lookman was isolated on the left wing. He cut inside in typical inverted winger fashion, nutmegged a defender, and curled the ball into the far corner of the net with his right foot. His final goal came from a similar position, but Lookman flipped the situation on its head. Instead of cutting in on his right foot, Lookman drove at his defender, unleashed a step over to work some space onto his left foot, and leathered the ball across his body into the top right corner of the net. It was a hat-trick that encompassed every aspect of world-class wing play.
The final goal by Lookman was a damming one for Leverkusen. Despite ending with 67% possession, they had been outworked for a lot of the game, and being down two goals, they had to commit bodies forward. Atalanta hit them on the counterattack, and it seemed like Lookman had all the space a man could ever want to plan his assault on the Leverkusen back line when the time came. It felt as if Leverkusen's long, arduous, and ultimately successful season was beginning to wear on the players.
For a side that is no stranger to falling behind and subsequently overcoming deficits, Leverkusen did not take Lookman’s onslaught particularly well in the first half. At halftime, reporter Jeff Shreeves shrewdly noted the shell-shocked look Leverkusen’s bench had after going down 2-0. The same could be said for the viewing audience that had grown used to watching Leverkusen erase deficits like it was nothing. Stars like Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong went down silently. Truly, Atalanta was all over them early in the game, and that appeared to be a knockout blow.
A year on from their last loss, Bayer Leverkusen will still have to go again. They have earned the right to play a maximum number of games this season. They will compete for their second piece of silverware, the German DFB Pokal, in just three days against Kaiserslautern. This begs the question, “Why have the Europa League Final in the middle of the week between league games and a Cup Final?” However, more than anything, this game seemed to me to be a testament to the wear and tear playing maximum games can have on a team, especially a team that has had to maintain an undefeated run for a whole year. Atalanta felt free-flowing, confident, and well-rested. Leverkusen was tight and a touch off the pace Atalanta set.
