Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in Dublin ended the Bundesliga side’s dream of completing an unbeaten campaign as Atalanta inflicted a first defeat of the season.
The Nigerian, Lookman was the star of the show as he completed a hat-trick inside 75 minutes at the Aviva Stadium to deliver the Serie A side a first European title in the club’s history.
His phenomenal goalscoring return also made the former Fulham and Everton striker the first-ever player to score three goals in a Europa League final and marking a career highlight.
Lookman’s journey to this moment has been a long one with the London-born star first moving into the professional ranks at Charlton before later moving to Everton where he struggled by scoring just one goal in 36 appearances.
Further moves to RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester all followed before making the switch to Italy two-years ago with former Liverpool striker Crouch explaining Lookman has found his ‘home’ in Italy.
‘This is why you play football. Someone like Lookman who has been around, a footballing nomad at times, someone who’s been Sunday league, to Charlton to Fulham on loan, Leicester, RB Leipzig, he’s gone around the houses to get to the moment where he’s found a home today and scored a hat-trick in a European cup final,’ Crouch told TNT Sport.
‘It’s an amazing story and those fans will never forget the name Ademola Lookman, it’s absolutely sensational.
‘Obviously it’s really emotional for him, his family I’m sure and it was a footballing masterclass from Gasperini, they were brilliant as a team but so pleased for Lookman,’ he added.
