Ademola Lookman scored a stunning nutmeg goal in the Europa League final for Atalanta against Bayer Leverkusen, jeopardizing the German club's unbeaten season.
Ademola Lookman Stuns Europa League Final with Outrageous Nutmeg Goal for Atalanta
The Europa League final between Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen was set ablaze by Ademola Lookman's moment of magic. The Nigerian winger produced a jaw-dropping individual effort, leaving Granit Xhaka in his wake before unleashing an unstoppable long-range strike to put Leverkusen's unbeaten season under serious threat.
It was a sequence of play that will live long in the memory. Lookman collected the ball and immediately took on Xhaka, the former Arsenal man left helpless as the Atalanta star nutmegged him with outrageous skill. But Lookman wasn't done there. With the goal suddenly in his sights, he let fly an audacious effort from the edge of the box that rocketed into the top corner, leaving the goalkeeper no chance.
Cue pandemonium in the Atalanta ranks as Lookman's brace within 26 minutes put his side in dreamland against the Bundesliga champions. For Leverkusen and their manager Xabi Alonso, it was a defensive lapse that could prove costly in their pursuit of an unprecedented treble.
"Ademola is a special talent, and that goal showed why," gushed Atalanta's manager Gian Piero Gasperini. "You can't coach that kind of magic – it's just natural ability."
Leverkusen's shell-shocked defenders could only lament the individual brilliance. "One minute you think you have him contained, the next he's twisted, turned, and buried it from nowhere," bemoaned defender Jonathan Tah. "It's the kind of goal that can decide finals."
