Ademola Lookman. Copyright: xVincentxKalutxImago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nSoccer Lookman\u2019s fast start and Barcelona impact<\/h2>\n Since his move to Madrid, Lookman has quickly become a key figure in Diego Simeone\u2019s side. The former Atalanta forward has scored five goals and provided four assists in just 14 appearances across all competitions.<\/p>\n
He made an immediate impression by scoring on his debut in a 5-0 Copa del Rey win over Real Betis, and has since delivered in La Liga, Europe and domestic cup competitions, a rare feat for a mid-season signing.<\/p>\n
But it is his performances against Barcelona that stand out most.<\/p>\n
Lookman has already faced the Spanish giants twice since his arrival, playing a decisive role in Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s 4-3 aggregate victory in the Copa del Rey semi-finals. In the first leg, he scored once and assisted another in a dominant 4\u20130 win, producing a display full of pace, direct running and composure in front of goal.<\/p>\n
Although Atl\u00e9tico lost the second leg 3-0, his contribution in the first meeting proved enough to send the team into the final.<\/p>\nAdemola Lookman. Copyright: xCesarxCebollax\/IMAGO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe was rested in the recent La Liga defeat, a decision by Simeone clearly aimed at keeping him fresh for the Champions League tie, a sign of just how important he has become.<\/p>\n
When asked about Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s ability to compete not just with Barcelona, but also with Real Madrid over a full season, Lookman did not hesitate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Atl\u00e9tico is a massive, massive club on all fronts. I noticed that before I came here and obviously being here, it\u2019s a lot bigger and right in your face<\/strong>,\u201d he reflected.<\/p>\n\u201cThe squad is full of amazing players, quality. We want to compete, and we\u2019ll compete on all fronts, in three different competitions, which is credit to everybody here, credit to the staff, credit to the players, credit to the mentality here. The mentality is to win as much as we can, win the games that are in front of us.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nBarcelona take on Atletico at Camp Nou on Wednesday before the two sides meet for the return fixture at the Wanda Metropolitano next week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soccer Super Eagles attacker Ademola Lookman has spoken with confidence and clarity ahead of UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash between FC Barcelona and Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, Soccernet.ng reports. The Nigeria international has offered insight into both the challenge ahead and his own growing influence since arriving in Spain. The two sides meet at the Spotify Camp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":897946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[121796,2923,2005],"tags":[121795,5857],"class_list":{"0":"post-897945","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-lookman","8":"category-ready","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-lookman","11":"tag-ready"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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