In the Europa League final, Atlanta defeated Leverkusen 3-0 to win the championship, winning the team's first ever European championship, and gave the opponent his first defeat of the season. After the game, Zhan Jun, a well-known commentator, made comments.
Zhan Jun wrote in an article: Alonso led Leverkusen to keep the unbeaten record of all competitions at 51 at the beginning of the season, which is amazing. Atlanta's closing force exceeded their expectations, and the players had a little high expectations. Leverkusen's passing and receiving errors were also "overwhelmed" by Lukman's three goals
Lukman also noticed him when he played at Everton in the past. He was fast and had good skills, but his last pass and shot were almost funny. Previously, his best season in the Premier League was 2021-22 when he returned to Leicester City on loan from RB Leipzig, but only scored eight goals in a season. However, it was Kangerton, a coach who worked in "Fox City" and later joined Atlanta, who recommended Lukman to Gasperini. He thought that the winger born in London and now representing Nigeria in international competitions had potential. Lukman said that in the quiet and relaxed environment of Bergamo, he could concentrate more on football, and the formation of Atlanta 3421 also better released his offensive attributes. He became the sixth player to score a hat trick in the European final. The last one was Heinz of Menchengladbach in 1975 (yes, "Duke of the Sea").
The 66 year old Gasperini took office in 2016 to help Atlanta avoid relegation. In 2018, they appeared in the Europa League. In 2019, the club made its first appearance in the Champions League. This year, they successively eliminated Portugal Sports, Liverpool and Marseille. In the final, they won the first trophy of the club since 1963, the Europa League, by winning the "undefeated hero" Leverkusen!
