Soccer
Atletico Madrid Ademola Lookman and Real Sociedad Ander Barrenetxea. (Photo by Imago)
Super Eagles attacker Ademola Lookman scored for Atletico Madrid as they fell to a penalty shootout loss to Real Sociedad in the final of the Spanish Copa del Rey, Soccernet.ng reports.
Lookman started for Atleti when they locked horns with the Txuri-Urdin in the final of the Copa del Rey at Estadio de la Cartuja. Going into the game, Diego Simeone’s men were the slight favorites given their quality and dominance in their previous ten fixtures.
However, they were stunned quite early as Ander Barrenetxea scored the opener for the Basque club in the first minute. He met a cross from Gonçalo Guedes and sent a perfect header into the bottom-left corner of the goal.
However, Lookman replied soundly with a beautiful strike in the 18th minute. He smartly received a pass from Griezmann in the center of the box, cut onto his left foot, and sent a low piledriver past Unai Simón to make it 1-1.
He nearly provided an assist for Griezmann in the 31st minute after a smart pass to set him up, but the Frenchman missed the target.
In the 42nd minute, Lookman combined well with Griezmann again, collecting a pass on the left side of the box. However, his strike narrowly missed the left post.
Lookman put a lot of effort into defending, but his Atleti side conceded again on the stroke of halftime, with Mikel Oyarzabal converting from the spot after Guedes won a penalty.
In response to going down, Los Rojiblancos dominated the early exchanges in the second half. Lookman had another opportunity to score in the 60th minute. But his effort was wide once again.
In the 62nd minute of the game, coach Simeone decided he had seen enough and decided to take off Lookmab for Nicolas Gonzalez.
It was until the 83nd minute, however, that Atletico Madrid scored the equalizer through Julian Alvarez. That goal eventually dragged the game into extra time.
Both sides were slightly defensive in the 30 minutes if extra time. But that was not enough to separate them.
The game eventually dragged into penalties, and that was where Real Sociedad won it. Their converted four of their spot-kicks as opposed to Atlético Madrid who scored three.
Soccer Ademola Lookman Matches Finidi George’s Record
Following his goal for Atletico Madrid, Ademola Lookman became the first Super Eagles player to score in the Copa del Rey final since 1997, when Finidi did it.
Buy unfortunately, his efforts weren’t enough to secure the victory for his side on the night. This means that Lookman and his Atletico Madrid side will have to wait on the UFEA Champions League for a chance to life silverware.
Kelvin Omachonu
Kelvin Omachonu is a professional football columnist and sports writer with over half a decade of experience covering major events and delivering captivating, analytically-driven stories.
A graduate of the University of Ibadan, he is fueled by a profound dedication to sports journalism and the beautiful game. His insights have previously been featured in respected outlets, including IndyPress UI, UCJ UI Newshive NG, Sportpremi, and a few others.
Away from work, Kelvin is an avid fan of basketball, enjoys a great movie, and is always discovering new music.
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