Soccer
Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman featured for Atlético Madrid as they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Lookman was named in the starting lineup as Los Colchoneros returned to UEFA Champions League action for the second leg of their quarterfinal clash.
Having secured a commanding 5-2 victory in the first leg, Atlético arrived in London with significant breathing room.
Spurs, desperate to overturn the aggregate deficit, played with high intensity from the opening whistle.
While the hosts dominated early possession, Atlético served a sharp reminder of their counter-attacking threat in the 6th minute.
Following a rapid break initiated by Marcos Llorente, Lookman found the back of the net, only for the goal to be chalked off for offside. A subsequent VAR review confirmed he was ahead of the last defender by a matter of inches.
For much of the opening period, Lookman was forced into a defensive role as Igor Tudor’s side launched wave after wave of attacks.
The pressure eventually told in the 30th minute when Randal Kolo Muani rose to meet a Mathys Tel cross, heading home to give Spurs the lead.
Lookman had a golden opportunity to restore parity just two minutes later, but he was unable to convert his effort from close range.
Both teams went at it before the break, but it was only Kolo Muani’s goal that was the difference heading into the break.
In the second half, however, the goals started pouring in. Julian Alvarez scored the equalizer for Atletico Madrid just two minutes after the restart. Lookman had a hand in it, as he set up his teammate with a pass from outside the box, and the strike was Alvarez was just simply sublime.
As time went on, the game started to heat up. And in the 56th minute, Lookman got yellow carded for a bad tackle. The Nigerian had to do a lot of defending, so it was not surprising that he got his name in the referee books.
The Super Eagles star was eventually taken off for Alexander Sorloth in the 63rd minute. It was a solid performance overall, as asides from his assist, he registered an 88% pass accuracy, 37 touches, and three defensive contributions. Lookman lost the ball just six times and won three fouls for his side.
In the 77th minute, David Hancko scored the equalizer for Atleti, making it 2-2. But just as it looked like Los Rojiblancos would run away with a 2-2 draw, Tottenham won a penalty in the 89th minute.
He then took charge of the responsibility and dispatched with aplomb to ensure the game ended 3-2 and 7-5 on aggregate.
Ademola Lookman’s Atleti To Face Barcelona Again
Following their victory over Tottenham, Atletico Madrid will now face Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Recall that both teams have faced off three times this season － twice in the Copa Del Rey, and once in the La Liga.
Ademola Lookman has already scores against the Blaugrana, and he will be looking to repeat it in the quarter-finals.
Read MoreKelvin Omachonu