Lookman, this is a football fairytale!

Ademola Lookman scored a stunning hattrick as Atalanta ended Bayer Leverkusenrsquos 51match unbeaten run to win the Europa League final 30 on Wednesday and claim their first trophy for 61 years1st ever continental trophyLookman became the first player to score a hattrick in a European final since 1975 to secure Atalantarsquos first ever continental trophyThe side from Bergamo have long lived in the shadow of nearby giants AC and Inter Milan However they have enjoyed a golden era under Gian Piero Gasperini reaching the Champions League on four occasions and now have silverware to show for itGian Piero GasperinildquoTo win it with Atalanta is perhaps one of the football fairytales that rarely gives scope for meritocracyrdquo said GasperinildquoIt doesnrsquot always come down to cold hard numbers or super leagues but shows teams without huge budgets can achieve big thingsrdquoLeverkusen have made a habit of late fightbacks in their remarkable run to winning a first ever Bundesliga title without tasting defeat But this time they failed to dig themselves out of a hole created by a slow start ldquoItrsquos a shame that the time it didnrsquot work out for us was in a finalrdquo said Leverkusen midfielder Granit XhakaAtalantarsquos more purposeful play in the opening stages was rewarded after just 12 minutes Davide Zappacosta got to the byline and Lookman caught Exequiel Palacios napping to fire into the top corner at the back postThe Nigerian has at times endured a nomadic career bouncing around the lower reaches of the Premier League on loan spells at Fulham and Leicester after being discarded by RB Leipzig But Lookman has found a home in Bergamo where he will now forever be a heroldquoIn the past few years Irsquove been able to take my game to a new level and show that on a more consistent basisrdquo said LookmanlsquoIrsquom pleased with progressrsquoldquoIrsquom pleased with the progress Irsquove made but this is just the beginning I hope for more nights like thisrdquo added LookmanThe 26yearoldrsquos second goal was fit to win any final as he nutmegged Xhaka before curling a powerful shot into the far corner The final blow was another fabulous finish from Lookman as he skipped past Edmond Tapsoba and this time blasted into the top corner on his weaker left footAtalanta had lost all three of their previous finals under Gasperini most recently in last weekrsquos Coppa Italia defeat to JuventusBut this time they were not to be denied their shot at history as they were roared across the finishing line by the thousands clad in blue and black that had made the trip from northern Italy to the Irish capital In doing so they became the first Italian side to win the competition since Parma lifted the UEFA Cup in 1999This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever