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Atalanta win the Europa League 2023/24

Atalanta win the Europa League, Leverkusen no longer unbeaten

By Andy PymontPosted on Posted in Atalanta, Bayer Leverkusen, UEFA Europa League

A thrilling 3-0 win on Wednesday night saw Atalanta win the Europa League. The Italian side scooped Europe’s second biggest club competition thanks to a hat-trick from Ademola Lookman.

What’s next for both sides and what else did we learn from this game?

European Glory for Atalanta

Atalanta have been a side growing in quality and reputation in recent years. Their brilliant 3-0 win at Anfield in the Quarter-Final of this competition was eye-opening. That was just one of many great recent performances.

Atalanta actually already played in a Cup Final this season. They lost 1-0 to Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final last week. However, that disappointment has been quickly forgotten. On Wednesday night in a major European Final, they finally ended their 61-year trophy drought.

The Italians are based in Bergamo, just 40 kilometers from Milan. In the past they have often found themselves in the shadow of their more illustrious neighbours, AC Milan and Internazionale.

Like many regional clubs around Europe, the club is passionate about representing its town. The club actually sends a football shirt to every newborn baby in the town:

Those that have followed Atalanta since they first received that kit will have been absolutely delighted with this success.

Leverkusen Denied

Bayer Leverkusen have enjoyed a memorable season themselves. The German side had gone 51 games unbeaten leading into Wednesday’s match. That run had already seen them win the Bundesliga after a barely believable season:
Bayer Leverkusen Results 2023/24

Failure to win the Europa League at this final hurdle shows how brutal top-level sport can be. For all those games unbeaten, it only takes one brilliant performance from an opponent to bring that to an end.

Leverkusen can still be rightly proud of a remarkable season where they have been a dominant force in the Bundesliga. They also have the chance to win the DFB Pokal this weekend when they face Kaiserslautern in the Final. There’s still a memorable Double available and they’ll hope to get right back to winning ways.

Ademola Lookman: One That Got Away?

A few eyebrows will have been raised at the identify of the goalscorer in Atalanta’s Final win. The hat-trick hero, the first player to score three times in a European Final since Jupp Heynckes in the 1975 European Cup Final, was Ademola Lookman.

Lookman didn’t make the impact expected in England after being a star of England Under-21 teams. He was at Everton from 2017 to 2019, moving on to RP Leipzig and later Atalanta. He was one of the victims of Everton’s big-spending 2018/19 season under Carlo Ancelotti. The Toffees signed a number of more expensive attacking midfielders and wingers. This blocked Lookman’s route into the team and hastened his departure.

Charlton Athletic, Lookman’s first club where he was an academy star, were quick to celebrate one of their own having such a big impact in such an important game:

Lookman is from Wandsworth in South London and played for England youth teams in the past. On the evidence of this season he could have been a good option for England to have on the bench at the European Championships this summer. However, that’s no longer possible. Lookman has already switched allegiance to represent Nigeria, the country of his parents. He has 21 caps for the Super Eagles. Rather than at the Euros, he’ll hope to star at the Africa Cup of Nations next year.

Europa League: Still Underrated in England

The Europa League remains a really great competition. Like the UEFA Cup before it, it is viewed as of secondary importance to the Champions League. However, it features some fantastic teams every year.

Some of the very best players and managers have graced the competition in the past, with many going on to star in the Champions League too.

Last year I argued that we underrate the Europa League in England and I think that’s still the case. Too often it’s looked as just a back door to Champions League qualification rather than as the great competition that it is.

English teams should take the Europa League more seriously. Some of our big teams have increasingly long trophy droughts. Ending those with success in a proper European competition like this would be a fantastic story for them. There’s a lot to like about Atalanta’s win and plenty of teams will be rightly looking on with envy.

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