Wednesday saw Atalanta defeat Bayer Leverkusen of Germany 3-0 to win the 2024 UEFA Europa League title, marking the Italian football team’s first-ever European championship.
Atalanta took the lead at Dublin Arena in the 12th minute with a close-range goal from their Nigerian winger, Ademola Lookman.
When Lookman beat Leverkusen goalkeeper Matej Kovar with a low effort from the edge of the penalty area in the 26th minute, Atalanta doubled their lead and took the lead going into the final.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s team prevented Leverkusen from organizing an offensive.
The 26-year-old Lookman scored again in the 75th minute, this time via a strong strike during a counterattack.
He became the first player since Germany’s Jupp Heynckes in the 1975 final for Borussia Monchengladbach to score a hat-trick in a Europa League/UEFA Cup final.
The UEFA Europa League replaced the UEFA Cup, which was first played in 1971, as Europe’s second-tier competition.
Italian team Atalanta, based in Bergamo, won their first-ever UEFA final.
They also put a stop to Leverkusen’s 51-game undefeated streak, which won the German Bundesliga.