Celebrations in Bergamo continued
long into the night after Atalanta crushed Bayer Leverkusen 3-0
in the Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday thanks to a
wonderful hat-trick by Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman to claim
the first European title of their history.
The 26-year-old was uncontainable, setting the Italian side on
their way with a double in the first half and then wrapping
things up with a thunderous shot in the closing stages to end
newly crowned German champions Leverkusen's 51-match unbeaten
run.
Atalanta are the first Italian side to win the Europa League.
The last time Italy had a winner was when Parma won the
competition's predecessor, the UEFA Cup, in 1999.
Coach Gian Piero Gasperini said it was fitting that his men had
lifted the trophy with a "memorable performance" stressing they
they had similarly demolished English giants Liverpool on the
way to winning the title and knocked out Portuguese champions
Sporting too.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
