Tag: Lookman

Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman has won the Goal of the Season Award for October.

Ademola Lookman’s equaliser against AC Milan was picked by Atalanta fans via social media as the Italian club’s best goal of the past month.

The 28-year-old fired  into the roof of the net for his side’s leveller in the 35^th  minute of the keenly contested encounter.

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It was the former Leicester City’s star first goal of the season for the former UEFA Europa League champions.

The tricky winger polled 53% of the votes, while his closest rival Marco Brescianini got 20%. Dominic Vavassori, who came third got 19%, while Francesco Gasparello polled 8%.

Lookman has made seven appearances for La Dea this season.

 Super Eagles  forward,  Ademola Lookman,  will now work under the  watch of a new trainer  after Atalanta   announced the arrival of Raffaele Palladino following the sacking of Ivan Juric.

The 2024 Europa League winners said in a statement the former Italian international had signed a contract until June 30, 2027.

Palladino, 41, cut his coaching teeth at Monza, first with the youth teams before taking charge of the first team in 2022 and competing in two seasons in the top flight.

He then joined Fiorentina, finishing sixth in Serie A before surprisingly departing last July after only one season in charge.

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Palladino arrives at a club that has not recovered from the departure of its iconic coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who left in the close-season after nine years in Bergamo to join Roma.

Struggling Atalanta have won only four matches this campaign – two in Serie A and two in the Champions League – out of a total of 15 played.

In the league, they have lost two games in a row and lounge in 13^th  place after 11 rounds, with only six points separating them from the relegation zone.

Atalanta said in a statement that Juric and his coaching staff had all been dismissed on Monday as they became the fourth Serie A club to change coach this season after Juventus, Genoa and Fiorentina.

Super Eagles forward Taiwo Awoniyi featured as Nottingham Forest claimed their first Premier League victory under new manager Sean Dyche, defeating Leeds United 3-1 at the City Ground. Awoniyi was introduced in the 59^th  minute and helped steady the Reds’ attack as they sealed a much-needed win.

In England, Crystal Palace hitman Chrisantus Uche remained an unused substitute in the goalless draw against Brighton. The youngster is yet to add to his three league appearances for the Eagles this season.

Over in Italy, Ademola Lookman and his Atalanta side endured a disappointing evening as they were outclassed 3-0 by visiting Sassuolo. The Nigerian winger was replaced in the 78th minute after a subdued display.

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In France, Terem Moffi came off the bench in the 79^th  minute to help Metz secure a 2-1 home victory over Nice.

Meanwhile, in Turkey, Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Kocaelispor, while in Belgium, Raphael Onyedika’s Club Brugge were edged 1-0 away by arch-rivals Anderlecht.

Atalanta head coach Ivan Juric has dismissed reports of a rift with Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman, describing their heated touchline exchange during the 1–0 win over Marseille as “nothing serious.”

Lookman was visibly frustrated after being substituted in the second half, moments after his goal was ruled out for offside. Juric was seen grabbing his arm, prompting a brief argument before staff intervened.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, Juric said such emotions are part of football’s intensity.

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“It’s normal. Players don’t like being subbed, and sometimes tempers flare. It happens every weekend,” he explained.

The coach praised his team’s resilience after missing a penalty and having a goal disallowed, before finally sealing victory through Samardzic’s late strike.

 “We were unlucky earlier, but the team fought until the end. This win was deserved,” Juric added.

But  former Premier League stars Troy Deeney and Nigel Reo-Coker have chided  Juric for  Wednesday’s unfriendly gesture.

Speaking on CBS Sports, Deeney condemned Juric’s actions, calling them unacceptable.

 “When you put your hands on someone, that’s it. There’s no going back,” Deeney said. “No explanation tomorrow or next week can undo that — especially in front of everyone.”

Reo-Coker echoed the sentiment, stressing that a manager must set the example.

 “As a leader, you can’t do that — full stop,” he said. “You’re representing Atalanta on a global stage. The moment you lay hands on a player, you lose that authority.”

• Juric  hails African Footballer of the year

Nigeria International and African Footballer of the Year, Ademola Lookman,  has expressed his ongoing struggle to find his scoring form with Atalanta, despite recently netting his first goal of the season during a 1-1 draw against AC Milan.

Although he played a crucial role by scoring the equalizer after AC Milan took  an early lead through  Samuele Ricci., Lookman admitted that he has not yet rediscovered his best form both physically and in front of goal.

The match at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo marked Lookman’s fifth appearance in Serie A this season. Following a summer transfer saga involving a failed move to Inter Milan, he clarified that he prefers not to dwell on past events and is focused on contributing to his team’s success.

In an interview with DAZN Italia, Lookman emphasized his commitment to helping the team and expressed optimism about improving his performance in future games.

“It’s important to be available for the team, to help the team,” Lookman told DAZN Italia as per Football Italia.  “I’ve not been able to find form yet, physically or in front of goal, but I’ll get there eventually and this was a step forward in the right direction. Hopefully in the coming games we’ll be able to get some wins.”

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He further made it abundantly clear he does not want to talk about the past or what happened in recent months when pressed if scoring  his first goal  of the season  had brought back his  happiness  with Atalanta.

“I think that when I’m on the pitch, the most important thing is to try to help the team win. We want to keep climbing up the table and that’s the most important thing, to win football games,” he noted

Meanwhile, Atalanta’s coach, Ivan Juric, praised Lookman, calling him a “spectacular player”  while highlighting his determination to succeed.

Juric noted that their training approach aimed to enhance Lookman’s match fitness and that he expects more goals to come as the forward continues to perform well in training.

“I think we pushed him to play more than perhaps he should’ve done because we wanted him to achieve match fitness,” Juric  equally told DAZN. “He is a special type of player — in training and on the pitch, he is a sight to behold. A winner with incredible determination, and I am very happy for him.

 “We were only talking yesterday, and he said if he keeps training like this, the goal will come — and today, it did.”

As Atalanta aims to climb higher on the Serie A table, Lookman’s contributions will be crucial as he looks to regain his scoring touch.

• By Olamilekan Israel with Agency Reports

Following their  spirited performance  in Sunday’s  goalless draw with Lazio in the Serie A, Atalanta steps up preparations for their UEFA Champions League Matchday 3 fixture against Slavia Praha, with African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman taking part in a closed door  training session at the Centro Bortolotti training complex in Zingonia.

The Nerazzurri led by head coach Ivan Juric resumed work yesterday just two days before tomorrow’s showdown at the New balance Arena  to be officiated by the Spanish referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea .

Yesterday’s  closed door training session focused on tactical shapes, recovery and their usual attacking transitions as Atalanta seek victory  yet again.  

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Lookman, who turned 28 on October 20^th , is expected to play a key role when Atalanta hosts the Czech champion  after  been in the thick of action on Sunday  where he nearly  came up with  the goals in  the Serie A clash  with Lazio.

In fact, ‘Mola’ contributions to the plight of La Dea  despite summer’s transfer upheaval ,  was well noted  in the club’s fitting  birthday message on Sunday :“Ademola Lookman celebrates his birthday today!

 “Born in Wandsworth on 20 October 1997, the Nigerian winger is blowing out 28 candles on his cake today. Now in his fourth season wearing the Atalanta shirt, Ademola has made 122 appearances across all competitions, tallying 25 assists and 52 goals — including his unforgettable hat-trick in Dublin that sealed our historic 2023/24 UEFA Europa League triumph. Many Happy Returns, Ademola!”

Meanwhile, UEFA  has  equally named  Spanish officials  Iker de Francisco and Alfredo Rodriguez  as assistants to Bengoetxea  for tomorrow’s tie between Atalanta and Slavia Praha with Jose Luis Munuera as the fourth official while Soto Grado and Carlos del Cerro Grande will handle VAR and AVAR duties.

The reigning African Player of the Year and Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman, will be unavailable for Nigeria’s final World Cup qualifying match against the Benin Republic on Tuesday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

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The Nigerian star received his second consecutive yellow card during their 2-1 victory against Lesotho in Polokwane, South Africa, on Friday. Lookman was earlier booked on September 9 in a 1-1 draw against South Africa in Bloemfontein, and his second yellow card on Friday means he is automatically suspended for the crucial match against Benin.

In only his first start for Atalanta  in the on-going campaign, Ademola Lookman had an impressive performance as La Dea beat Club Brugge , 2-1.

Atalanta had to come from behind through Lazar Samardzic and Mario Pasalic to claim their first Champions League victory of the season over the Belgian side  at the New Balance Arena last night.

There was no Isak Hien, Giorgio Scalvini or Sead Kolasinac in defence for La Dea, nor Charles De Ketelaere, Gianluca Scamacca or Nicola Zalewski further up the pitch.

That, however, meant that Ademola Lookman was called into the starting line-up for the first time this season, following his attempts to leave the club over the course of the summer transfer window. There was also a first start of the campaign for Brazilian midfielder, Ederson.

Atalanta threatened early on through Lorenzo Bernasconi, who thundered a fierce volley just wide of the target from 25 yards out after less than four minutes.

Ederson, Lookman and Mario Pasalic all tried their best to get Atalanta ahead, but it was the visitors who would claim the first-half lead.

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Atalanta had to wait until the final 20 minutes to find the equaliser. Nordin Jackers did brilliantly to stop Musah while charging into the area, but the Brugge goalkeeper overcommitted and brought down Mario Pasalic on the follow-up.

Samardzic stepped up to convert the penalty just inside the right post to level for Atalanta with what was his first competitive goal this calendar year.

Then, with three minutes of regular time remaining, Pasalic stole the lead with a well-placed header from Samardzic’s corner delivery, sending the New Balance Arena into a frenzy.

Atalanta, who had been eliminated by Club Brugge in the Champions League play-off round last season, are now off the mark with their first victory in Europe this season.

Incidentally before the game, Atalanta coach Ivan Juric said he called on Lookman  and Emerson in the starting line-up for the  match because they are  ‘excellent athletes’.

 “They’re quality players. They’ve been training with us for a while, I think that today is a good opportunity for them to start playing in matches,” Juric told Sky Sport Italia about the return of Lookman and Ederson to the starting line-up. “They’re two excellent athletes, we’ll see how they get on during the game.”

Ademola Lookman made his first start of the season for Atalanta as the Italians came from behind to beat Club Brugge in the Champions League.

The England-born Nigeria winger was left out of the Italians’ squad for the first three Serie A games of the season after handing in a transfer request at the start of August.

Lookman was reported to have been a target for Inter Milan but a move failed to materialise.

He looked sharp on his return to the first-team fold and had an early shot blocked, but it was Belgium’s Club Brugge who took the lead against the run of play when Christos Tzolis curled in a fine effort just before half time.

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Atalanta dominated the second half and substitute Davide Zappacosta went close with a low drive that flew just wide of the target.

They got the equaliser their dominance deserved when Nordin Jackers was adjudged to have brought down Mario Pasalic inside the box, and Lazar Samardzic stepped up to convert the penalty.

That prompted an open end to the game as both sides had chances to snatch a winner, but it was Atalanta who got it as Pasalic headed home with three minutes left.

The result secured Atalanta their first win in this season’s Champions League while it was Club Brugge’s first loss after thrashing Monaco 4-1 in their opener.