Xabi Alonso’s Bayern Leverkusen were 90 minutes away from creating a unique record that would reverberate across Europe and the world for years but Serie A boys Atalanta were not willing to play ball.
The 2023/24 Europa League tournament came to an end with Atalanta thrashing the Bundesliga champions a whopping 3 nil, thanks to a hattrick from Nigeria international Ademola Lookman.
It is a no-brainer that the Bundesliga outfit were the favorites for the win based on what had transpired throughout the season at both the domestic level and on the European scene.
Xabi Alonso’s men have proven themselves unbeatable domestically and were looking for perfection in Europe. We saw many cases where they came from behind to secure draws and wins with the last kick of games during the 2023/24 season and were looking to do the same if the need arose against a proven-to-be well-drilled Atalanta side.
However, this was not the case as their unbeaten run surprisingly ended with a 3-goal defeat and no goal scored. I daresay that no one saw this coming.
I can also bet that many folks would have placed bets on them coming from behind to win or draw the game in regulation time after going down 2 nil at half-time.
This was not the case though, as Atalanta, the currently most in-form team in Serie A with 5 wins in their last 5 stole the show and ran rings around Xabi Alonso’s men.
The game can be described as even based on statistics but the Serie A outfit played their part to garner the stats where it mattered most and it was in the scoring of the needed goals that gave them the win; Moreso, three un-replied goals against a red hot Leverkusen side.
The Europa League is done and Atalanta are the Europa League champions for the 2023/24 season, and they did it in style by putting a stop to the menace of Bayern Leverkusen. Therefore, they need all the credit they can get!
Kenneth is a an avid soccer follower, fan and writer. He is a consistent follower of the sport and is a fan of Chelsea FC.