Ademola Lookman inspired Liverpool hero as superb hat-trick wins Europa League for Atalanta

Ademola Lookman is Atalanta’s hero tonight. The Atalanta star’s sensational hat-trick led the Italian side to victory in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, ending the German side’s unbeaten run in the process.

Lookman stunned Xabi Alonso’s side with a first-half brace to put Atalanta in control in Dublin. He completed his hat-trick in the second half with another stunning strike to seal the victory and earn Atalanta their first European trophy.

It is, of course, a major blow for former Liverpool midfielder Alonso, whose hopes of leading Leverkusen to a remarkable unbeaten treble this season have ended. Can’t take the titles away from Lookman, though.

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Liverpool fans saw the Nigerian international earlier in the competition as the Reds were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Atalanta, but they may also remember him from his time on Merseyside. Lookman was just 19 when he signed for Everton under Ronald Koeman and scored on his debut against Manchester City, but that was as good as it got at Goodison Park as he failed to reach the heights many expected .

Lookman looked to get his career back on track in Germany before further loan spells at Fulham and Leicester. In the 2021/22 season, he scored the winner in Liverpool’s defeat at the King Power Stadium, but the deal was not final.

A move to Atalanta followed that summer and the 26-year-old took his career to a new level in Italy. His hat-trick in Dublin is arguably his greatest achievement to date and he may well have a Liverpool hero to thank for it.

Lookman believes he has improved considerably after watching clips of Sadio Mané, who was one of the best left-backs in world football during his time on Merseyside. “I feel like I understand football a lot more now,” he told The Athletic last month.

“When I watch matches, I look for certain things in terms of movement and spaces – those little details that I didn’t used to look for before. The guy I’ve always looked up to the most would have to be Mané. Watching his threat in the box, his threat in those tight little spaces, his movement – I watched a lot of his game in particular.”

Liverpool.com says: Big things were expected of Lookman when he joined Everton from Charlton in 2017, but he never lived up to his promise in the Premier League. However, he started at Atalanta and his hat-trick in the Europa League final will go down as one of the most sensational performances in any final.

An original version of this article was first published on April 11. It was updated after Atalanta’s victory in the Europa League final.