By Patric Ridge
Nine months; 51 matches down, 42 of them won, nine of them drawn; two games to go, with two trophies on the line. Bayer Leverkusen were close. So close.
But close, is not quite there, and on Wednesday, Xabi Alonso’s invincible class of 2023-24 were finally proved to be mere mortals after all.
Instead of Leverkusen clinching a European crown — which would have been the second in their history after the 1987-88 UEFA Cup — to go with their maiden Bundesliga triumph, it was Atalanta who stole the show, winning 3-0 at the Aviva Stadium.
This was Ademola Lookman’s night. He joined Pierino Prati, Stefan Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano in scoring a hat-trick in a major European final.
This was Gian Piero Gasperini’s night. Aged 66 years and 117 days, he became the oldest coach to win his first European final.
This was Atalanta’s night. They won their first major European trophy, becoming the first Italian team to win the UEFA Cup/Europa League since 1999, when Parma triumphed.
PARTY POOPERS
Xabi Alonso v Jurgen Klopp. The heir apparent going up against the departing legend.
That dream narrative was a very real possibility back in March, when the draw for the quarter-finals and semi-finals was made. Leverkusen were put up against West Ham; Liverpool were to face Atalanta. But crucially, the two favourites had been kept on separate sides of the draw.
It was all lining up nicely. Klopp’s final game in charge of Liverpool would come across the Irish Sea in Dublin, where he would do battle with his successor, Alonso, for a final trophy. They would embrace on the pitch — Klopp would presumably adorn his replacement with a Liverpool scarf. Everyone would cheer, etc.
Well, football doesn’t work like that.
Alonso elected to stay put for next season, and the Reds did not make it beyond the last eight.
Leverkusen, in fairness, held up their end of the bargain. They beat West Ham over two legs, but Liverpool were emphatically dispatched at home by Atalanta, 3-0, and a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture was not enough.
Atalanta were deserved victors at Anfield, too. Indeed, they could quite easily have had more goals. According to Sofascore, which uses Opta data, Gasperini’s team created seven big chances and accumulated 3.2 xG.
They had spoiled the party once but, after wrestling their way beyond Marseille in the semi-finals, could they do it again? Could they really stop Alonso’s juggernaut?
And in fairness, did anyone want them to?
Atalanta’s story is an incredible one. Since taking over in 2016, Gasperini has turned a team with a modest budget into one of Serie A’s most consistent sides. The lowest Atalanta have finished in the past eight years is eighth. They have finished third in Italy’s top tier three times, reached the Copa Italia final twice (losing to Juventus on both occasions), and have twice made it into in the Champions League.
The boys from Bergamo will be back at Europe’s top table again next season, but while that is fantastic to see, it is not like this was a David v Goliath story.
Leverkusen’s incredible campaign has been the story of the season. They are the first team in Bundesliga history to go through an entire season without losing, having snatched draws, or even last-gasp victories, from the jaws of defeat on multiple occasions.
In Alonso, they have one of Europe’s most coveted coaches. In Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo, two of the best wing-backs. Florian Wirtz is a superstar, at just 21. And they were on the verge of a double en route to what could have been a treble — Leverkusen face Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday.
But party poopers Atalanta, like they did at Anfield, wrote their own history.
Granit Xhaka, who has excelled since joining Leverkusen from Arsenal, insisted the squad was “not interested in the unbeaten record”, adding: “We didn’t care about that from the start.”
It is hard to believe him.
GO YOUR OWN WAY
Lookman has had something of a nomadic career.
Having scored on his Premier League debut for Everton, following a move from Charlton Athletic, in January 2017, big things were expected of him.
Yet a combination of poor management from the likes of Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce and Marco Silva, and a sprinkling of a questionable attitude from Lookman at times, saw his Everton career fizzle out.
Allardyce had wanted Lookman to join Derby County on loan in the winter of 2018, but instead the winger forced through a move to RB Leipzig, believing the Bundesliga was a better fit for his talent than the Championship.
Lookman was proved right — he scored five goals in 11 Bundesliga appearances for Leipzig, and wanted to return over the summer. Everton kept hold of him, yet Silva handed him just three league starts through the following campaign.
He was sold to Leipzig ahead of the 2019-20 season, but a year later — and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic — Lookman was back in England with Fulham. He scored four Premier League goals, but could not prevent the Cottagers from going down. Yet he remained in England for another loan spell the following season, this time with Leicester City. Six goals this time in the top flight, but that was not enough for the Foxes to sign him permanently.
Atalanta took the punt, signing Lookman for a reported €15million — pocket money to Premier League clubs, but a sizeable fee nevertheless. He scored on his Serie A debut, with a further four goals following in all competitions. The hat-trick against Leverkusen — his first career hat-trick, no less — saw him match last season’s goal tally.
While his opener on Wednesday showed a poacher’s instinct, his second was a true classic of the genre when it comes to winger’s cutting in from one flank, onto their strongest foot (in this case, his right), dancing past a defender or two, before arrowing a strike into the bottom corner from the edge of the area. Lookman’s third goal, meanwhile, came at the end of a rapid break, with the 26-year-old getting the better of Edmond Tapsoba and lashing a fierce left-footed drive high into the net.
Perfectly suited to playing in either a split-striker role in a 3-4-1-2, or as an inside forward in a 3-4-3, Lookman has proved ideal for Gasperini’s direct, counter-attacking approach. The boy from London, who now represents Nigeria, has found a home.
Atalanta, meanwhile, might finally find the credit they deserve.