Atalanta, who made their debut in the final, barely allowed Leverkusen to develop in front of 50,000 fans with their aggressive pressing. The Bergamasco team also proved to be extremely efficient in attack. In the twelfth minute, Lookman pushed a flat pass from Davide Zappacosta over the line to take a 1-0 lead. Shortly afterwards, the 26-year-old Nigerian outmaneuvered Granit Xhaka on the edge of the penalty area and curled the ball flat into the far corner (16th minute). After the break, Lookman struck again and scored the decisive goal into the top right corner (75th minute).
While Leverkusen missed out on its first international triumph since winning the UEFA Cup in 1988, but still has a chance of winning the German double in the DFB Cup on Saturday against second division side 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Atalanta won only the second title in its club history since its triumph in the Coppa Italia 61 years ago. “La Dea” had just missed out on this title in the cup final recently with a 0-1 defeat to Juventus Turin.
Reuters/Hannah Mckay After 61 years, Atalanta can lift a trophy again, for the first time on the international stage
Atalanta buys Leverkusen’s cutting edge
Atalanta, group opponents of Sturm Graz (2:2, 1:0 for Bergamo), attacked Leverkusen early and found their first chance soon after the start. Defender Piero Hincapie was there for Matteo Ruggeri’s header from a few meters (8th). Three minutes later, after a low cross from Zappacosta, Lookman crowned the successful start with a powerful shot into the left corner.
Just as Atalanta continued their own line unimpressed, Leverkusen couldn’t find their way into the game. Constantly under pressure, Xavi Alonso’s team made unusual turnovers, and a harmless shot from Josip Stanisic (18th) was the guests’ only finish for a long time. Shortly afterwards, Lookman made his next big appearance. After another mistake by the “Werkself”, Nigeria’s team player moved into the middle in front of the penalty area and shot precisely into the bottom right corner.
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Bayer barely breaks free of their grip
Only then was Bayer able to launch a few quick attacks against the extremely high Italians, but in the most dangerous attempt, Alejandro Grimaldo only managed a sort of back pass to the onrushing goalie Juan Musso (34th minute). Atalanta again had the last word before the break, with Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar on hand to stop Charles De Ketelaere’s attempt.
Leverkusen has come back from a 2-0 deficit four times this season, most recently in the second leg of the semi-final against AS Roma. To achieve this turnaround again, Alonso brought on club top scorer Victor Boniface at half-time. Although he was not expected to play a major role, it became apparent that his team not only had more possession of the ball, but also had longer attacking phases.
Lookmann closes the bag
After an hour of play, Jeremie Frimpong fired a volley into the clouds after a dominant ten minutes by the Werkself, and a little later Musso had to intervene on a dangerous cross from Florian Wirtz (64th minute). Atalanta now played much deeper and could hardly make any more pinpricks, but continued to keep the Germans well in check.
Reuters/Paul Childs With a shot into the top corner, Lookman scored a hat trick and made the final decision
At the beginning of the final quarter of an hour, after a long time, the Bergamasco team finally launched a counterattack towards the Bayer goal, and Lookmann did not let the opportunity pass him by. In a one-on-one, the nimble striker duped Edmond Tapsoba and sealed the deal.
UEFA Europa League, Finale
Wednesday:
Atalanta Bergamo – Bayer Leverkusen 3:0 (2:0)
Dublin Arena, 50,000 spectators, SR Kovacs (ROU)
Torfolge:
1:0 Lookman (12.)
2:0 Lookman (26.)
3:0 Lookman (75.)
Atalanta: Musso – Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac (46./Scalvini) – Zappacosta (84./Hateboer), Ederson, Koopmeiners (57./Pasalic), Ruggeri (91./Toloi) – De Ketelaere, Scamacca (84./El Bilal Toure), Lookman
Leverkusen: Kovar – Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapie – Stanisic (46./Boniface), Xhaka, Palacios (68./Andrich), Grimaldo (69./Hlozek) – Frimpong (81./Tella), Wirtz (81./Schick), Adli
Yellow cards: Djimsiti, Scamacca, Koopmeiners, Zappacosta or Wirtz, Tapsoba, Andrich
2024-05-22 21:02:20
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