By Monsurah Olatunji
Nigeria international Ademola Lookman not only scored against Napoli but also made history by becoming one of two Atalanta players to score both at home and away against the Serie A giants in the same season.
Atalanta suffered a 3-2 defeat to league leaders Napoli at the Gewiss Stadium on Saturday. However, Lookman’s goal added his name to the history books.
According to Opta, Lookman’s strike made history as the first time two Atalanta players have scored both at home and away against Napoli in a single Serie A season.
Earlier in the campaign, Atalanta had defeated Napoli 3-0 at the Diego Maradona Stadium, with two goals from the current African Footballer of the Year and one from Mateo Retegui. In this return fixture, both Lookman and Retegui found the net for Atalanta.
Although his goal could not prevent his side from suffering a second home defeat of the season, Lookman marked his first goal of the year, continuing his impressive start to 2024.
The African Player of the Year played a pivotal role in bringing Atalanta level at 2-2 in a thrilling encounter.
Lookman initiated the play in midfield, shrugging off Giovanni Di Lorenzo before skilfully evading three defenders and firing his shot through a crowded box into the bottom corner.
Despite the loss, the 27-year-old has now scored 12 goals this season, adding to his six assists in 25 appearances across all competitions.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
