AtalantaBayer 04 Leverkusen
UEFA Europa League – Matchday 1 – 22/05/24 – 9:00 PM
timeiconplayerhomeTimehomeIconhomePlayerscoreawayPlayerawayIconawayTime
12′
Ademola Lookman
12′
Ademola Lookman
1 – 0
26′
Ademola Lookman
26′
Ademola Lookman
2 – 0
75′
Ademola Lookman
75′
Ademola Lookman
3 – 0
It has happened! Atalanta has ended Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run at 51 wins. Thanks to a one-man show by hat-trick hero Ademola Lookman, the Italian stunt team immediately emerged victorious in its first European final. Our compatriot Charles De Ketelaere was allowed to contribute to the success for about an hour.
Atalanta – Bayer Leverkusen:
Fifteen minutes before the end, Leverkusen can finally put aside the hope of a comeback. With yet another flashy action and his third goal of the evening, Ademola Lookman delivers the death blow to the German champion.
To score a hat-trick in a European final, only five players have done it before Ademola Lookman. The Nigerian is even the first to succeed in a Europa League final. With his flashes of class and instincts he made the difference for Atalanta.
Atalanta immediately won its first European final and won its first trophy since the Coppa Italia in 1963. It is a first for Gian Piero Gasperini, the 66-year-old Atalanta coach has finally won a prize after a long career.
Lookman delivers an unrecognizable Leverkusen uppercut
For Bayer 04 Leverkusen, a historic season could become even better in Dublin, but the newly crowned German champions were a shadow of themselves in the first half. Atalanta was immediately on target and with a strong De Ketelaere clearly had the upper hand in the opening minutes.
That flashy start was redeemed after just 12 minutes. Palacios was surprised by Lookman on a cross from Zappacosta and the Nigerian finished it well. There was no strong German response, and an unrecognizable Leverkusen had nothing to offer more than a weak shot from Stanisic.
Atalanta was a lot sharper and punished Leverkusen’s clumsy loss of ball before the half hour mark. Lookman went for a walk and aimed his second of the evening with a wonderful place ball beyond Kovar’s reach.
Ten minutes before half-time, Grimaldo illustrated Leverkusen’s powerlessness. Only Musso had an excellent chance to score the tying goal, but the Spaniard aimed the ball weakly into the hands of the goalkeeper.
No new comeback for Leverkusen
De Ketelaere was in the shadow of standout Lookman, but was also in the spotlight and even almost scored a goal shortly after half-time. Hincapié just stopped that with an ultimate intervention on a low cross from Koopmeiners.
Leverkusen showed signs of improvement, but the German patient did not recover. On the hour mark, Frimpong had the opportunity to bring momentum back to the German team, but that too fizzled out with a wild volley.
This season Leverkusen made up for a deficit more than once, but in this final they never claimed it. Fifteen minutes before the end, Lookman took away the last ounce of hope from the German champion. The Nigerian completed his hat trick with a crossed shot high into the goal.
The final phase became a lap of honor for Atalanta, which experienced the best moment in club history with its Europa League win.
For Leverkusen, the unbeaten streak comes to an end after 51 games without a loss. Another chance to win a trophy awaits on Saturday, in the cup final against Kaiserslautern.
Related:
“We made history”
- Ademola Lookman (Atalanta): “I’m very happy. We did it. We made history, the trophy is going to Bergamo. It’s unbelievable. Last season we qualified for Europe and now we have a trophy. Everyone did a fantastic job. Now we’re going to have a party.”
- Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta coach): “We made history. I am especially proud of the way we won. It is unbelievable. We beat Sporting, who became Portuguese champions. When we went to Liverpool, they stood up in the Premier League and Leverkusen won the Bundesliga. It’s so satisfying. The players also put in an incredible performance tonight, we were very strong.”
- Robert Andrich (Leverkusen): “We would have preferred not to end our unbeaten run in such an important match. This is very sad. But we have to be honest, today we deserved the defeat. We have to congratulate Atalanta, they deserved it more than us today. Atalanta won the decisive matches. We had better moments, but there were no goal chances. If you concede three goals, you deserved to lose.”
- Granit accept this. A new final awaits on Saturday. We will try to do better there.”
Phase by phase
Atalanta wins the Europa League!
Atalanta writes history! The club from Bergamo wins the Europa League! Gasperini’s team was clearly too big for an unrecognizable Leverkusen, which bit the sand for the first time this season after an unbeaten run of 51 games. Lookman was the star at Atalanta, with a hat trick he sent the Italian fans into delirium.
Hlozek scores a particularly nice long shot. His attempt narrowly misses. It doesn’t matter much. Another two minutes and the party can start at Atalanta.
It has been a kind of lap of honor for Atalanta for quite some time now.
Peter Vandenbempt
Hlozek’s big stroke just misses
An extra 4 minutes will be added.
Hlozek goes down in the box in a duel with Scalvini. The VAR checks for a penalty, but it doesn’t get that far.
No late penalty for Leverkusen
Small chances back and forth
Substitute Schick forces another corner for Leverkusen, but it does not lead to a chance. The first defeat after an unbeaten run of 51 matches is gradually becoming inevitable for Leverkusen.
Just shy of a handball from the Atalanta goalkeeper
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Poor long shots
Kovar has no problem with a weak shot from Ederson. On the other side, Wirtz cannot worry Musso with a mediocre long shot. Can Leverkusen still prepare for a miracle in the final phase or is hope gone?
2024-05-22 21:18:05
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