Charlton academy graduate Ademola Lookman made history on Wednesday night, scoring a sensational hat-trick as Atalanta ended Bayer Leverkusen's 51-game unbeaten run to lift the Europa League.
The winger opened the scoring after just 12 minutes at the Aviva Stadium and doubled his side's tally 14 minutes later. With 15 minutes of the showpeice final remaining, he completed his treble to become the first ever player to bag a hat-trick in a Europa League final.
Lookman, who scored 12 goals in 49 first-team appearances for Charlton before joining Premier League outfit Everton, is just the sixth player to net a hat-trick in the final of a major European competition and becomes the first to do so in 49 years after Jupp Heynckes' for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the UEFA Cup.
The 26-year-old is the third Nigerian player to score in the final of a major UEFA competition following Alex Iwobi and fellow Charlton academy graduate Joe Aribo, who bagged in the Europa League final in 2019 and 2022 respectively.
Congratulations, Ademola!
Charlton fans can support the academy by signing up to the Valley Gold scheme. Valley Gold enables fans to support the club’s academy in unearthing the talents of tomorrow, as well as giving them the chance to win cash prizes.
Click here for more information on how you can become a Valley Gold member.
