Atalanta won their first major European trophy on Wednesday evening, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in Dublin to claim the Europa League title.
The Italian club also interrupted Xavi Alonso and his Lerverkusen’s 51-game unbeaten streak across all competitions, with Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman scoring a hat-trick to become the first player in tournament history to do so in the final.
On their road to the finals, Atalanta defeated several big names. They won Group D, which included Sturmz Graz, Rakow, and Sporting CP with 14 points from four wins and two draws in six games.
Atalanta faced Sporting again in the round of 16 and eliminated them after drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Lisbon and winning the second leg 2-1.
Their toughest test of the competition came in the quarterfinals when they faced English powerhouse Liverpool. The opening leg at Anfield drew all of Europe’s attention to Atalanta. The Italians won 3-0, due to two goals from striker Gianluca Scamacca and one from Mario Pasalic, shocking Liverpool and everyone on the continent.
They defeated Marseille in the semifinals with a 1-1 draw in the first leg and a 3-0 triumph in the second leg, advancing to the final.
After losing the Coppa Italia final 1-0 to Juventus and ending fifth in Serie A, Atalanta were determined to end the season with a silverware, and Lookman made that dream a reality.
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