UEL final: Ademola Lookman’s hat-trick stops invincible Leverkusen in Dublin

Nigeria’s Super Eagles Ademola Lookman scored thrice, as Atalanta defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final of the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League (UEL) in Dublin on Wednesday, May 22.

Coming off a 51-match unbeaten run across all competitions, Leverkusen was tipped to extend their tally and secure their first-ever European title, but Lookman, having lost two finals in 2024, had other ideas.

Barely 12 minutes into the encounter, an unmarked Lookman leveraged a beautiful link-up play between Teun Koopmeiners and Davide Zappacosta to fire his side ahead at the Aviva Stadium.

14 minutes later, the Nigerian outwitted Granit Xhaka at the edge of the box to send a fierce strike into the bottom corner for his brace and Atalanta’s second.

Having overcome a 2-0 deficit four times this season, Leverkusen wasn’t to be written off, and their intent was quite visible when Xabi Alonso brought on Super Eagles’ Victor Boniface for the second-half showdown.

However, whatever hopes the Bundesliga champions had of coming back into the game was doused by Lookman in the 75th minute when the ex-Leicester City winger buried Gianluca Scamacca’s pass to become the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League final.

It was a night of many firsts in Dublin courtesy of Lookman’s hat-trick. Atalanta not only won their first-ever European trophy in their 116-year history, but they also became the first Italian side to win the tournament since Parma in 1999.