Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman and his Italian side Atalanta lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in their UEFA Super Cup final in Warsaw on Wednesday night, aclsports.com reports.
Lookman, who notched a hattrick to help La Dea win the Europa League against Victor Boniface’s Bayer Leverkusen last May, started and played all 90 minutes of the game decided by second-half goals from Federico Valverde and Kylian Mbappe.
All eyes were on the European champions, who lined up with a frightening forward line containing Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Vinícius Jr; while the Italian side began as the underdogs in the final played in front of a packed crowd at the National Stadium in Warsaw.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men took the game to the Italians in the early stages, especially down the right flank through Valverde and Dani Carvajal, but the Atalanta defence coped reasonably well. On the other hand, Atalanta, who were making their first appearance in the Super Cup, didn’t look out of place and created chances of their own. However, the game finished goalless after 45 minutes.
Following the resumption of the game, Lookman and Atalanta continued to threaten, only denied a goal by an exceptional fingertip save from Thibaut Courtois to keep out Mario Pašalić’s header. Just moments after that save, Madrid showed their supremacy to go in front. Brazillian Vinícius Jr showcased his dribbling class in the box, beating his marker before putting the ball on a plate for Valverde to tap into an empty net in the 59th minute.
Less than ten minutes later, the inevitable second goal arrived for Madrid through Mbappé, with the Frenchman expertly firing into the top corner after being set up by Bellingham in the box. Lookman, who was his side’s best player on the night, could not get a goal for his side as they went on to lose to the Spanish giants.
Going forward, Lookman – who scored 17 goals and added 10 assists in 45 appearances last season – will begin his 2024/25 Serie A campaign when Atalanta travel to face Lecce at Via del Mare stadium on Monday evening.
