Atalanta stops Bayer in its tracks and lifts the Europa League | Soccer | Sports | EUROtoday

The Dea, the goddess of Bergamo, the Lombardy provincial staff, all the time within the shadow of Inter and Milan, stopped Bayer Leverkusen's extraordinary gallop in its tracks and gained its first European title with an awesome recreation yesterday in Dublin. From finish to finish, Atalanta gave its rival no respite. The majestic Ederson prevailed over Xhaka within the unequal midfield battle and Ademola Lookman, a soccer nomad who migrated by England, Germany and Italy, blew up the ultimate with three objectives. The blow paralyzed Leverkusen. The Bundesliga champion misplaced its first match after going 51 unbeaten. A document with a bitter ending.

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Juan Musso, Djimsiti, Isaac Hien, Kolasinac (Giorgio Scalvini, forty fifth minute), Matteo Ruggeri (Rafael Tolói, 91st minute), Zappacosta (Hans Hateboer, 83rd minute), Ederson Silv, Teun Koopmeiners, Charles De Ketelaere (Pasalic). , 56th minute), Ademola Lookman and Gianluca Scamacca (El Bilal Toure, 83rd minute)

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Matej Kovar, Edmond Faycial Tapsoba, Piero Hincapie Reyna, Jonathan Tah, Exequiel Palacios (Robert Andrich, 68 minutes), Josip Stanisic (Victor Okoh Boniface, 45 minutes), Xhaka, Grimaldo (Adam Hlozek, 68 minutes), Jeremiah Frimpong (Nathan Tella, 80 minutes), Amine Adli and Florian Wirtz (Schick, 80 minutes)

Goals 1-0 min. 12: Ademola Lookman. 2-0 min. 25: Ademola Lookman. 3-0 min. 75: Ademola Lookman.

Referee István Kovács

Yellow playing cards Djimsiti (min. 22), Florian Wirtz (min. 34), Gianluca Scamacca (min. 35), Zappacosta (min. 59), Edmond Faycial Tapsoba (min. 67), Teun Koopmeiners (min. 70) and Robert Andrich ( min. 73)

“Gasperini has supported me by giving me minutes and playing attacking football,” stated the hero of the evening, who at 26 years previous barely performed minutes at Everton, Leicester, Leipzig and Fulham, earlier than arriving in Bergamo. “In every conversation the coach showed me that he could play a totally different kind of football. He taught me to think differently and took me to a new level.”

Gian Piero Gasperini, one of the vital iconoclastic foxes on the European benches, moved the items to positions that took Leverkusen to an unknown stage. The ahead stress, on the person, with out quarter, fixed, exhaustive, compelled Leverkusen to play the ball with its in depth roster of middle backs. Xabi Alonso used as much as 4: Tah, Hincapié and Tapsoba in the midst of the protection, and Stanisic on the correct aspect. This forged, which in protection is a bunker and is shocking in fast transitions, was disconcerted by the duty to seek out passing strains blindly. The harassment of Lookman, Scamacca, De Keteleare, Ruggeri, Koopmeiners and Ederson, disconnected Leverkusen. A disaster arose and when Wirtz, Xhaka and Palacios got here to supply help, they discovered themselves overwhelmed by a rival who had extra gamers able to dealing with themselves in small areas. The flyers beat the defenders.

Put to make choices in 360 levels on the most doable pace to get out of the quagmires that fashioned in entrance of their space, the Leverkusen centre-backs discovered themselves in an unnatural state of affairs. Subjected to the stress of performing so near their aim with rivals harassing their areas, their shortcomings emerged. Leverkusen's extra of centre-backs stopped being a bonus and have become an organizational obstacle that contaminated all strains. The defenders trembled with the ball, insecurity surprised them once they needed to act with out it, and this affected the midfielders. Forced to come back to assist, Xhaka and Palacios ended up changing into overwhelmed as a result of they felt that any effort can be inadequate in opposition to an opponent who had gamers higher outfitted to handle the ball in small areas. Lookman, De Keteleare, Ruggeri and Zappacosta will not be from the midfielder household, however on the very least they’re first cousins. His concord with Ederson and Koopmeiners was excellent.

In the midst of the German staff's confusion, Zappacosta and De Keteleare appeared on the correct flank. The winger put in a cross and Lookman intercepted it on the far put up with out Palacios having the ability to react to his unmarking. The aim plunged Leverkusen into despair. It grew to become evident that Alonso's plan required a serious revision. Only 12 minutes had handed. But the coach most popular to attend for the break. Let's see if Wirtz, Grimaldo or Frimpong confirmed up.

Wirtz runs out of legs

It was Florian Wirtz's time. The modern German participant, a prodigy of creativeness solely 21 years previous, grew to become extra essential than ever for his teammates. Until now he had shone like diez, effectively protected by 9 teammates who ran piecemeal for him in a scheme tailor-made to him: 5-2-1-2. Given the proof that Bayer couldn’t go away their area, Wirtz imposed an train of duty and deserted his inventive positions within the closing third to go right down to ask for the ball. Only on this means did gentle come to gentle amongst his troops, particularly among the many suffocated Xhaka and Palacios. But the readability was short-lived. Wirtz was pursued by Ederson and Hien. The relays of the Atalanta gamers to hyperlink up with the little helmsman had been amazingly coordinated. Wirtz felt the results very quickly. From working 70 meters up and down, he ended up shedding his legs. He seen his mistaken decisions and his more and more spaced interventions. Wirtz was by no means recognized for being a long-distance runner. He was paid by his staff when he wanted everybody to deploy to Gasperini's ambush.

Leverkusen didn’t go away the tunnel when within the twenty fifth minute their goalkeeper took a protracted shot to keep away from stress, Adli headed down for Wirtz, who didn’t arrive, and Lookman saved the ball. The Nigerian superior down the left, dribbled previous Xhaka, and to the astonishment of Tapsoba and Tah who took a very long time to shut, he outlined the far put up with a whiplash. Alonso's staff didn’t overcome the blow. Not even the adjustments after the break revived him. Lookman, in a counterattack led by Scamacca, ended the ultimate with a hat-trick that the town of Bergamo celebrates as a divine present.

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