Atletico to face Barca in Cup semi-final
Ademola Lookman expressed his delight after scoring his 100th career goal on his Atletico Madrid debut, with coach Diego Simeone and teammate Antoine Griezmann praising the Nigerian’s impact in the 5-0 Copa del Rey quarter-final thrashing of Real Betis on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The striker’s milestone goal made him the first Nigerian player to score in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and the Copa del Rey.
Lookman, who joined Atletico from Atalanta during the winter transfer window, raced past the Betis defence in the 37th minute and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to make it 3-0.
His creative influence continued after half-time when he delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Griezmann to fire home Atletico’s fourth goal from the edge of the area.
The 28-year-old has now found the net on his debut for his last four teams – Everton, RB Leipzig, Atalanta and now Atletico Madrid.
“Very proud, very happy for my debut, especially for the performance of the team. The team, everyone in the dressing room welcomed me in a very affectionate way. They made it easy for me. That’s why I’m very happy,” Lookman said, according to MD.
“I’ll try to be regular in the season. Everyone works hard. There are things that can be improved, but my intention is to continue working to improve, which is the important thing.”
Atletico head coach Simeone was delighted with Lookman’s performance and expects the Nigeria international to be a very important player over the coming months.
“His characteristics speak for themselves. He is a different player to all the ones we have, a specialist in one-on-one duels although he also has associative play,” Simeone said.
“That allows us to play with different positions. We are not knowing. He had a very good impact on the team, he felt good, hopefully we can help him to be an even better footballer and he can help us to grow as a team.”
He added to Movistar, “He’s a big guy, he’s 28 years old. He came to help us and hopefully we’ll help him so he can continue to grow. He has different qualities than the players we have and that will make us better.”
French World Cup winner Griezmann, who was on the receiving end of Lookman’s assist, praised the welcoming atmosphere within the squad.
“We’re a team, a dressing room, a club, and a very welcoming fanbase,” Griezmann told Marca.
“Everyone who arrives is welcomed from the very first second, and we see that with the new arrivals. Let’s enjoy the new players and hope they bring us joy like tonight.”
Following the victory, Atletico were drawn to face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
The first leg of the semi-final will take place in Madrid next week, before the second leg at Camp Nou at the start of March.
Barcelona are the holders of the trophy, having beaten Real Madrid 3-2 in last year’s final, and are the most successful side in the history of the Copa del Rey with 32 titles. Atletico are 10-time winners of the competition.
The other semi-final will see Real Sociedad meet Athletic Bilbao in a Basque derby.
Much of Lookman’s scoring success has come in Italy, where he netted 55 goals for Atalanta, more than at any other club.
Among his favourite opponents, Fiorentina stand out as Lookman scored six goals and provided three assists against them in just eight appearances.
In England, Lookman managed goals against Manchester City, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Liverpool and Leeds United.
