Boniface battle Lookman as Leverkusen, Atalanta seek Europa Cup glory

Super Eagles’ forwards, Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella, will hope to add to their recent Bundesliga triumph with Bayer Leverkusen today when their side takes on compatriot, Ademola Lookman’s Atalanta in the Europa League final.

Xabi Alonso’s men are hunting for the club’s second Europa League title as they bid to complete a historic unbeaten treble. However, they must overcome a fluid attacking Atalanta side that knocked Liverpool out of the competition.

The Germans overturned a two-goal deficit against Roma to secure a 2-2 draw in the second leg of their semifinal clash after Leandro Paredes’ brace had given the visitors a chance to crawl back into the tie. But Gianluca Mancini’s own goal swung the tie in Leverkusen’s favour, before Croatia defender, Josip Stanisic’s late equaliser sealed the team’s place in the final on a 4-2 aggregate score.

“We’re happy to be in the final. We’ll play two finals in a week as a result. We showed great character today after their second goal. I looked my players in the eye afterwards and saw that they wanted more. We still have the chance to win three titles. And my boys deserve all three titles,” Alonso told the media after the match.
Nigerian forward, Lookman, was on the scoresheet when Atalanta defeated Marseille 3-0 in the second leg of their semifinal clash as the team booked their first European final appearance with a 4-1 aggregate score.

Gian Piero Gasperini is hoping to win his first managerial trophy while also leading his exciting Italian side to European history.

“It’s a historic achievement for us; we also celebrated after Liverpool, after Sporting, rightly so. But we know very well that it’s not over. Now we have several important games to play and we will have time to think about Leverkusen,” Gasperini told the media after the team’s victory over Marseille.

The last time the two sides met was in the Last 16 of the 2021/22 Europa League season when Gasperini’s side defeated Leverkusen 4-2 aggregate score after securing a 3-2 victory home and then following it up with a 0-1 defeat away from home.

The Italians will be hoping to repeat the feat against an undefeated Leverkusen side currently under the tutelage of Alonso, a Champions League winner with Liverpool and Real Madrid.