Atalanta win Europa League, ending Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to became the first Italian side to win the competition since Parma lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999.
Xabi Alonso’s team ran out of steam after a phenomenal season with the Atalanta’s Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman running them ragged, opening the scoring with a back-post finish on 12 minutes before doubling the advantage with a stunning curling effort 14 minutes later.
He wrapped up his famous treble with a powerful left-footed strike that flew into the top corner meaning he became the first player to ever score a hat-trick in a Europa League final.
After a tremendous run to secure their first silverware in the Bundesliga, Leverkusen’s hopes of winning a treble are over although they can secure a domestic double by beating Kaiserslautern in the German Cup on Saturday, 25 of May.
Leverkusen have made a habit of late fightbacks in their remarkable run to winning a first ever Bundesliga title without tasting defeat. But this time they failed to dig themselves out of a hole created by a slow start.
“It’s a shame that the time it didn’t work out for us was in a final, It’s bitter, definitely, we lost a final today but we go on and we’ll make up for it on Saturday in the German DFB Pokal Cup final.” said Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka.
For Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini, this is the first major trophy of his long career – an overdue success. The Victory also gave Atalanta only a second trophy in their 116-year history, over six decades after the Bergamo side had won the Coppa Italia.
“To win it with Atalanta is perhaps one of the football fairytales that rarely gives scope for meritocracy. “It doesn’t always come down to cold hard numbers or super leagues but shows teams without huge budgets can achieve big things.” said Gasperini in an interview after the match.
“To win it with Atalanta is perhaps one of the football fairytales that rarely gives scope for meritocracy. It doesn’t always come down to cold hard numbers or super leagues but shows teams without huge budgets can achieve big things.”
Gian Gasperini
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso accepted the defeat but couldn’t hide that the loss hurt as it surpassed their expectation of the match outcome but also had their hopes on winning a treble.
“Normally it happens earlier in the season, but when it’s the first one in such a big game, it hurts for sure. We need to deal with this pain in a positive way; try to transform it into good energy for the next thing. It’s football. The normality is not to get defeated in the 52nd game. It’s been quite exceptional what we have achieved and we have to be really proud. Today is painful, but it’s deserved as well.” said Alonso.