Atalanta secured their first-ever piece of European silverware after defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the UEFA Europa League final on Wednesday night.
UEFA Europa League Final
Result: Atalanta 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Date: 22 May 2024
Venue: Aviva Stadium
Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso made two changes from the semi-final second leg, as Florian Wirtz and Josip Stanisic came in to the line-up, while Atalanta brought in Sead Kolasinac for the injured Martin de Roon.
The Serie A outfit got the opening goal after 12 minutes when Ademola Lookman caught the Leverkusen napping and turned home Davide Zappacosta's cross at the far post.
The lead was doubled for the Italians in the 26th minute as Lookman did well to evade one challenge before unleashing a powerful strike from the edge of the box that sailed into the far corner.
The German champions did manage to carve out a rare chance five minutes before the interval when Grimaldo slipped through on goal down the left side of the box, however the full-back was denied by goalkeeper Juan Musso.
Alonso responded with a change at the start of the second half as Nigerian striker Victor Boniface replaced Stanisic while Atlanta withdrew Kolasinac for Giorgio Scalvini.
Leverkusen dominated possession in the second period but they were finding it tough to break down Atalanta, who were happy to sit back and pounce on the counter.
That's exactly what happened with 15th minutes to play as Lookman collected a pass from Gianluca Scamacca before carving out space to rifle into the top corner to complete his hat-trick.
In doing so, the Nigeria international became the first African player to score a hat-trick in the final of a major UEFA competition.
As for Leverkusen, the defeat in the final is their first of the 2023/2024 season across all competitions but they can redeem themselves in the DFB Pokal final.
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