The Nigerian winger came into his own in Portugal as the Italian side defeated the Portuguese giants
Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini has praised Ademola Lookman following the Super Eagles striker’s excellent performance in midweek, Soccernet.ng reported.
Lookman was outstanding for Atalanta in their impressive 2-1 away win against Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League on Thursday.
Atalanta scored twice in the first half through Giorgio Scalvini and Matteo Ruggeri, allowing the Italian Serie A team to dominate the early rally.
Sporting CP fought back hard after the break and got a goal back thanks to a great shot from Victor Gökeres, but Atalanta were able to secure their second continental victory this season.
Although Lookman was not on the scoresheet, his contribution was very important. The Nigeria international made his three important passes, created great chances with a passing accuracy of 85%, took two shots and blocked his opponent’s three.
Head coach Piero Gasperini was impressed with Lookman’s performance, claiming it was the best he had seen from the former Everton player this season.
According to Calciomercato, coach Piero Gasperini said, “Lookman probably played his best game of the season, and even considering last year, he played one of his best games.”
“He has been in a lot of dangerous situations and I see him growing, but I don’t know if he can repeat last year’s goal. Lookman is important If you always score goals in the first half, you will hardly ever miss a goal.
“The second half was difficult. Some players like Scamacca, Holm and De Quetelaere need to develop in terms of pace and mentality.”
Lookman has scored two goals in seven Serie A games this season, but he still has a long way to go to match last season’s goal tally.
The 25-year-old flying winger joined Atalanta from RB Leipzig for just 9 million euros, but his stock has risen by more than 300% to 30 million euros.
This came after Lookman scored 15 goals and eight assists in 33 competitive matches, including 13 goals in Serie A.
