Europa League final talking points as Atalanta cruise to victory over Bayer Leverkusen 

Atalanta ended a 61-year trophy drought on Wednesday as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. 

Ademola Lookman stole all the headlines as he bagged a hat-trick of goals to lead his side to an excellent victory. 

The buildup to the Europa League final was dominated by Leverkusen’s dreadful record in the finals, and that continued this week as they were comfortably beaten by their Italian opponents. 

Below we look at some of the main talking points from Ireland where Atalanta registered their first-ever Europa League title. 

Lookman’s hat-trick

Lookman was in the form of his life in yesterday’s game as he delivered three excellent finishes to lead his side to victory. 

The Nigeria international placed the opener in the top corner from Davide Zappacosta’s cutback on 12 minutes. 

He soon added another by curling a fantastic shot into the bottom corner. 

The winger’s third was equally as good as he smashed the ball into the roof of the net in the second-half. 

Gasperini’s career-defining moment 

Gian Piero Gasperini has been in management since 1994 when he joined Juventus as a youth team coach. Over the years, he has managed many big clubs but failed to achieve major silverware. 

However, the Italian boss finally landed a major trophy with Atalanta yesterday, thus becoming the oldest manager to win a Europa League final at 66. 

Leverkusen finally taste defeat

Bayer Leverkusen enjoyed a stellar 2023-24 campaign as they became the first team to go unbeaten in a Bundesliga season. They won their first league title in the process, breaking Bayern Munich’s 11-year run. 

But their 51-game unbeaten run finally came to an end at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday as Gasperini outwitted Xabi Alonso. It was a dominating display from La Dea who comfortably ran out 3-0 winners in the end.