![\"Soccer](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/Hboj9c9_Fpnb5jSYcOMAokoExD0=\/750x500\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F02%2Fimago1072722784-1.jpg\")
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Ademola Lookman of Atletico Madrid. Copyright: ImagoxCesarxCebollax\/xPRESSINx<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Atletico Madrid manager\u00a0Diego Simeone\u00a0has praised Ademola Lookman for his growing influence after their dramatic UEFA Champions League elimination of Barcelona on Tuesday night,\u00a0Soccernet.ng\u00a0<\/u><\/a>reports.<\/p>\n The Super Eagles forward proved decisive on the night, scoring the crucial goal that\u00a0helped Atletico advance to their first Champions League semifinal since the 2016\u201317 campaign\u00a0despite\u00a0a 2\u20131 defeat in the second leg\u00a0to progress 3-2 on aggregate.<\/p>\n The\u00a028-year-old\u00a0has made an immediate impact since his\u00a0\u20ac35 million winter move from Atalanta\u00a0and\u00a0now has 10 goal contributions for the Spanish club, scoring six\u00a0goals and\u00a0providing\u00a0four assists across\u00a0all competitions.\u00a0The transfer also made him the most expensive African player in La Liga history,\u00a0and he is already justifying the fee.<\/p>\n Ademola Lookman featured for 66 minutes in the\u00a0Champions League quarter-final second leg tie<\/u><\/a>, but it was his\u00a0first-half display that made the difference, ultimately sending Atletico through at Barcelona\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n Speaking after the match, Simeone expressed satisfaction with the Nigerian\u2019s performances so far, while also suggesting there is still more to come from him in the months ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still evolving, he\u2019s improving a lot defensively which makes him even more important and of course he\u2019s carrying more weight in the team\u201d,\u00a0the Argentine said post-match<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s brilliant offensively, he\u2019s very courageous and he\u2019s very good in one on one. Since I\u2019ve been at the club, we\u2019ve never had players like that with those features and well, we are betting everything on playing almost four forwards. Giuliano is a winger, he\u2019s almost a forward and when he attacks, he\u2019s an extra forward and when we attack we played from the heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe amount of running we did was unbelievable and Lookman\u2019s offensive importance giving pace to the team when he was on the ball. We need more from him, he has more in his tank and we\u2019ve seen it in Nigeria and well, he\u2019s always played great\u201d, Simeone concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Atletico Madrid will now face the winner of the quarter-final clash between Arsenal and Sporting CP in the semifinals,\u00a0with the first leg set to hold on April 28 and 29, while the second leg will take place between May 5 and 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/6Qu4PF1sJlHVAq1vagYXiVtge80=\/4368x2912\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.soccernet.ng%2Fmain%2F2026%2F03%2Fimago1074814135.jpg\")
Soccer Simeone hails Lookman\u2019s importance to Atletico after Barcelona elimination<\/h2>\n
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