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Lookman has been named Player of the Match after his hat-trick won the UEFA Europa League final in Dublin for Atalanta

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  • Lookman has been named Hankook Player of the Match after his hat-trick won the UEFA Europa League final in Dublin for Atalanta

Super Eagles’ Lookman Ademola scored an hat trick on Wednesday evening to win Atlanta FC the Europa cup against the hitherto unbeaten Bayern Leverkusen side.
Ademola scored a brace in the first half of the pulsating final before grabbing a hat trick in the second half to win the Italian side the first major trophy in its history.

As soon as the final whistle was blown, players and technical crew members of the Atlanta side ran to lift the Nigerian-born super star afloat in a dramatic frenetic victory dance.

The UEFA Technical Observer panel’s assessment of the Nigerian’s performance said it all: “For obvious reasons and his all-round enthusiasm and energy. Really sharp and his execution was spot on.”

The first EVER African Player to score Hattrick in the Final of a major UEFA Competion. Ademola Lookman!

“I’ve always had the confidence in my ability to create, to score goals, to help my team-mates,” the 26-year-old said in the post-match press conference. “In the past two years I’ve been able to take my game to a whole new level. Maybe [my best form] could have come earlier, but it’s come now. This is just the beginning. I hope for more nights like this and to just keep getting better and better.”

Lookman is only the third Nigerian player to find the net in a UEFA Cup or Europa League final, after Alex Iwobi in Arsenal’s 4-1 loss to Chelsea in 2019 and Joe Aribo, who scored Rangers’ goal as they lost on penalties to Eintracht Frankfurt two years ago. He is also only the third Nigerian to appear in a final win in the competition, after Taribo West (Inter Milan, 1998) and Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moskva, 2005).

After the game, he said that playing international football for Nigeria had helped him to raise his game. “It’s incredible [to play for Nigeria],” he explained. “The support and the love I get back home from the people is unbelievable. It gives me the motivation to evolve in different areas – as a person, not just in my game.”

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