Nigeria international Ademola Lookman says Atalanta can be ‘proud’ of their emphatic victory against Serie A leaders Napoli, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s men dominated the hosts and claimed a comfortable 3-0 win at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium to climb to second in the table with 22 points, three points less than the 2022/23 champions.
Both coaches were eager to downplay the game as a potential Scudetto decider, but it was certainly a statement from La Dea, who also won by the same scoreline at the same venue last season.
Lookman bagged an early brace before Mateo Retegui came off the bench to add a third, his 11th goal of the campaign on the volley.
The Super Eagles forward opened the scoring in the 10th minute before grabbing the second a minute past the half-hour mark to put the visitors in the driving seat.
It was the fifth consecutive Serie A victory for Atalanta that ended a run of three consecutive Napoli clean sheets.
They have scored 18 goals in that spell and conceded only two.
Speaking after the victory, the Nigerian said Atalanta were proud of their win against the league leaders.
“It was a big performance from the team; we’re happy, and three points away from the leaders is never easy, so we’re proud of that,” Lookman told DAZN.
The 27-year-old was in Paris earlier this week for the Ballon d’Or ceremony, where he secured 14th place thanks largely to his hat-trick in the Europa League Final against Bayer Leverkusen last season.
Reacting to his landmark achievement, the former Everton star said, “Individual achievements are part of football, but this is a team game; my squad helps me a lot. I continue working and try to help the team when I can.”
Lookman is also considered the favourite for the 2024 CAF Men’s Player of the Year award.
