Ademola Lookman Scores First Half Brace as Atalanta Take Lead in Europa League Final: Video

Ademola Lookman Scores First Half Brace as Atalanta Take Lead in Europa League Final: Video

Lukman Mumuni
updated at May 22, 2024 at 8:28 PM
In this article:
Ademola Lookman logo
A. Lookman
Atalanta logoFNigeria logo
Victor Okoh Boniface logo
V. O. Boniface
Bayer Leverkusen logoFNigeria logo
Nigeria logo
Nigeria
Nigeria
21
UEFA Europa League logo
UEFA Europa League
Europe
Atalanta logo
Atalanta
Italy
49
Bayer Leverkusen logo
Bayer Leverkusen
Germany
34
  • Ademola Lookman has shot Atalanta into a first-half lead in the Europa League
  • The Nigeria star scored twice as took a 2-goal lead against Bayer Leverkusen
  • Atalanta are chasing their first European title in the final in Dublin this evening

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Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman has registered his name on the score sheet of the Europa League final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin.

The Super Eagles star fired home after 11 minutes as the Italian side raced into an early lead with hopes of winning the competition for the first team.

Lookman netted his second of the match with a sensational strike after 25 minutes as Atalanta got off to a flying start.

Ademola Lookman, Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, Europa League, Dublin
Ademola Lookman curls in his second goal in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen. Photo: Alex Grimm.
Source: Getty Images

The German champions hold an incredible record of going 51 matches without defeat and could still find their way back in the game with another half to play.

In a video shared on social media, the red-hot Lookman blindsided Exequiel Palacios to smash home the opener.

Lookman has been on a run of good form since the turn of the year, scoring important goals for club and country, including goals in the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Europa League.

The AFCON star is one of the players being considered a favourite for the CAF Player of the Year, having reached three finals in 2024.

Unfortunately, Lookman lost in the final of the Nations Cup to Ivory Coast and the Coppa Italia to Juventus.

Lookman warns Leverkusen ahead of final

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Nigeria forward, Ademola Lookman was confident ahead of the final of the Europa League against unbeaten German side, Bayer Leverkusen.

Lookman is one of the players to watch out for following his incredible run of form since the turn of the year, scoring important goals for both Nigeria and Atalanta.

His goals in the quarter-final and semi-finals of the Europa League proved crucial as the Italian side eye their first European laurel.

Lookman emerges as CAF POTY favourite

Sports Brief also reported that Ademola Lookman became one of the frontrunners for CAF's 2024 African Player of the Year award after an outstanding run with both club and country this year.

The 26-year-old starred as Atalanta reached their second final of the year following victory over Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, May 9.

Lookman scored and provided an assist in the 3-0 win in Bergamo as the Italians strolled to a 4-1 aggregate win.

Authors
Lukman Mumuni photo
Lukman Mumuni
Lukman Abdul Mumin is a Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past five years. Lukman joined Sports Brief as an Editor for the Local Desk in 2022.