By Monsurah Olatunji
Nigeria star Ademola Lookman turned a turbulent week into triumph, scoring a brace in Atalanta’s 5-0 thrashing of Empoli.
The Super Eagles forward was named Man of the Match for his standout performance, which helped La Dea bounce back in style.
Lookman had been under the spotlight after a rough few days, particularly following a penalty miss in Atalanta’s 3-1 Champions League defeat to Club Brugge.
Manager Gian Piero Gasperini had publicly criticized Lookman for his spot-kick miss, which played a part in the team’s elimination from the competition.
However, the Nigerian winger responded in the best possible way, putting aside the negativity to shine against Empoli.
He scored in the 43rd minute, doubling Atalanta’s lead after an own goal by Emmanuel Gyasi and a strike from Mateo Retegui.
As the team continued to dominate, Lookman showcased his clinical ability, timing his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before evading defender Liberato Cacace with a clever step-over and finishing coolly with his left foot for his second goal.
After the match, Lookman encapsulated his resilience with a post on social media, sharing an image of his celebration and captioning it “Pain into power,” symbolizing how he transformed the frustration of the previous week into a powerful performance.
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.
