A member of the Nigerian Super eagles Ademola Lookman scored the first ever hat-trick in a UEFA Europa League Final for Atlanta as they bashed Bundesliga Champions Bayern 04 Leverkusen 3-0.
And it was the Serie A side that struck first in the 12th minute in a wonderfully crafted goal courtesy of Lookman, who ghosted into the box completely unmarked and fired a clinical, first-time strike past Matěj Kovář following some delightful link-up play involving Teun Koopmeiners and Davide Zappacosta.
The Nigerian winger then added to the tally with a sublime finish to the admiration of even Leverkusen players.
He received the ball, went past Granit Xhaka, nutmegged the ex-Arsenal star, before launching a stunning long-range effort from the edge of the box, which went straight into the goal as he completed his brace within 26 minutes of the game.
Leverkusen almost had an unexpected lifeline when Florian Wirtz picked out Álex Grimaldo but the Spaniard failed to execute the lob and shot straight at Juan Musso, with the Argentine standing way outside his goal.
Ultimately, Lookman extinguished any hopes of Leverkusen forging a way back into this contest with a ferocious angled finish from the left-hand side after being teed up by Gianluca Scamacca.
It was the first defeat in 51 matches in all competitions this season for Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen.
The victory at the Dublin arena on Wednesday was Atalanta’s first-ever UEFA Europa League title — their first major title win since 1963.
