Lookman outshine Tomori and Chukwueze in Atalanta 3-2 defeat of Milan
Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman scored a brace to outshine compatriots Samuel Chukwueze and Fikayo Tomori as Atalanta sealed all three points against Milan in a dramatic five-goal thriller which ended 3-2 at the Gewiss Stadium this evening on match-week 15 of the 2023/24 Serie A campaign.
Lookman broke the deadlock as he managed to make central midfielder Teun Koopmeiners’ long throw-in stick in the box, weaving past his markers with a sublime first touch and scored as his shot ricocheted off of star Milan defender Tomori past shot-stopper Mike Maignan.
The Rossonerri responded shortly as Olivier Giroud scored a towering header in courtesy of a lovely taken corner from full-back Alessandro Florenzi before the end of the first half.
Lookman scored a brace for himself in the opening minutes of the second half as Charles De Ketelaere came to haunt his former club with a pin-point cross for the clinical forward to bury from the six-yard box.
However, coach Stefano Pioli’s side portrayed resilience as Luka Jovic found a late equalizer from point-blank range following a brilliant delivery from former Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic out wide.
Whilst the match seemed to be nearing a stalemate, Davide Calabria saw red following a wreck-less challenge which saw him receive a second yellow, allowing La Dea to possess a numerical advantage on the pitch.
In the end, Gasperini’s side capitalized on the Milan full-back’s foolish error as super-subs Aleksey Miranchuk and Luis Muriel combined with a slick one-two for the Colombian forward to slot the last-gasp winner.
Atalanta sit in 7th with 23 points, whilst Milan find themselves in 3rd with a total of 29 points in the Serie A standings.
Gian Piero Gasperini told DAZN after the match.
.“I never had doubts on the character of this squad over the years,”
“There are some games where you struggle, we are also playing in the Europa League and were not always as determined or fuelled by the same adrenaline as usual. There are a lot of fixtures, Europe gives us a lot, but takes away too in terms of energy, injuries and focus.
“When we can prepare and are faced with a team like Milan, we bring out this extraordinary performance.”
Lookman said last week that he had never worked so hard in training as he did with Gasperini, which seemed to surprise the coach.
“He never did anything, then! Lookman cannot play every game like tonight, or he’d be amazing, but he is doing very well this season. He has some dips and troughs, but that is normal. What he must learn from this group is to share the same spirit, and determination and realise when it’s not your day, then you have to work for the team.”
Gasperini also surprised a few in the crowd when he substituted Lookman and De Ketelaere for Miranchuk and Muriel, who went on to combine for the winning goal.
“More than surprised, they were jeering!” said the coach. “I hope they remember next time to wait before jeering a substitution. Muriel scored an extraordinary goal, but I see him do this a lot in training, so they do not come out of nowhere. I tell him he ought to do them in the match situation and tonight he did.”
Pundits scored Tomori 5.5, “We have certainly seen better games from him. He seemed to be just one second late in too many duels tonight, even if he did win a few as well.”
Pundits also described Chukwueze as “Slow and not strong enough in the duels. He had one or two moves where he got past his man, but then the end product was missing. And most of the time he didn’t even get past the defender.”
