Kovář caught the twelfth out of 13 games in the just ended year of the European League, but did not add the sixth clean sheet. His teammate Hložek came into the game from the bench in the 69th minute, another striker Schick in the 81st minute with the score tied.
The trio of representatives did not follow up on goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík, who, as the last Czech to play in the EL final four years ago, watched from the bench his Sevilla’s win over Inter Milan.
A newcomer to the European finals, Bergamo won only the second trophy in the club’s history, winning the Italian Cup in 1962/63. Leverkusen did not replicate the triumph in the former UEFA Cup from the 1987/88 season and, just like 22 years ago, finished just below the top in the Champions League. Bayer will not achieve the unique treble, but they can still win the German Cup, in which Saturday’s final against Kaiserslautern awaits them.
The 66-year-old coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who has been leading the team since 2016 and is behind the rise of the club in recent years, won the Premier’s major trophy in his career. Atalanta is the first Italian winner of the Europa League or UEFA Cup since 1999, the last time Parma succeeded.
Bergamo struck from the first chance in Dublin. In the 12th minute, Zappacosta took a deflected corner kick and his low cross crossed the penalty area to Lookman, who outpaced the hesitating Palacios and scored into an open net.
In addition, the Nigerian striker increased the score less than a quarter of an hour later, when he put the defending Xhaka in a “crib” and sent the ball exactly to the post with a sharp attack from behind the goal. Lookman became the first African footballer to score twice in the European Cup final.
Leverkusen entered the match without a classic striker and was not dangerous at all in the first half. Coach Alonso therefore sent Boniface into the game at the beginning of the second half, with five goals together with Schick, the team’s top scorer in the competition.
Atalanta pulled back after the change of sides, but Bayer could not make any big chances out of their territorial advantage. After an hour of play, Frimpong had the only hint, sending a heavy volley high over the bar. On the contrary, in the 75th minute, Lookman got free again on the edge of the goal and this time he fired the ball under the crossbar with his left foot. The 26-year-old striker scored his fifth goal in the European League.
He could have corrected Hložek’s score in the setup, but he missed by a few centimeters from a distance. Bergamo defeated Leverkusen in the third match between them as well, having defeated them twice in the round of 16 two years ago. Atalanta completed a difficult playoff journey, in which they gradually knocked out other big clubs Sporting Lisbon, Liverpool and Marseille. Bayer, on the other hand, did not follow up on the semi-final triumph over another Italian team, AS Roma.
In the event of Leverkusen’s victory, the Czech vice-champion Slavia would have secured the 3rd preliminary round of the non-championship part of the Champions League. Now the people of Prague have to wait whether Bergamo will finish at least in the fourth place in the Italian league, otherwise they will go to the 2nd preliminary round of the millionaire competition. Atalanta are fifth in Serie A, but if they manage the remaining two games, they have a move up the table in their hands.
2024-05-22 20:56:51
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