A dream come true: Lookman, Ruggeri and El Bilal sealed Atalanta’s 3-0 win over Olympique de Marseille to send the Nerazzurri into their first-ever UEFA Europa League final. After a 1-1 draw in France, a victory in the semi-final return leg set the Nerazzurri’s celebrations into motion at the Gewiss Stadium. The first European final in the club’s history will be played in Dublin on 22 May.
The Nerazzurri got off to a strong start, with De Ketelaere breaking into the box and hitting the outside of the post on 6 minutes after a Koopmeiners solo run. After the visitors tried their luck through Ndiaye, who fired over, the Nerazzurri stepped up a gear: Scamacca’s 16th-minute angled drive finished wide, Zappacosta’s effort in the 19th minute was straight at the goalkeeper and Koopmeiners’ finish was deflected wide by the French defenders for a corner. The Nerazzurri almost took the lead in the 24th minute when Scamacca struck the crossbar and De Ketelaere’s header was parried by Pau Lopez. The deserved lead came at the half-hour mark when De Ketelaere ignited Lookman, who fired into the far bottom corner from the edge of the box. In the 35th minute, De Ketelaere’s through ball released Lookman, who lost his balance one-on-one with Pau Lopez, while Koopmeiners stung the visiting goalkeeper’s gloves. Just before half-time, Scamacca and Zappacosta produced two more scoring threats.
The second half opened up with the visitors threatening with a Ndiaye lob that went inches wide, but Atalanta doubled their lead in the 52nd minute through Ruggeri, who smashed a stunning curler into the top corner assisted by Lookman. Veretout hit the crossbar from a free kick in the 63rd minute, while Koopmeiners tested Pau Lopez once again in the 80th minute. But it was not over yet, as El Bilal gathered the ball in midfield in the 94th minute, ran towards the goal and beat the visiting goalkeeper with a clear-cut finish. The semifinal second leg ended 3-0 at the Gewiss Stadium, next stop: Dublin!
ATALANTA 3-0 OLYMPIQUE DE MARSEILLE
Scorers: Lookman 30 (A), Ruggeri 52 (A), El Bilal 94 (A).
Atalanta: Musso, de Roon, Hien, Djimsiti, Zappacosta (Hateboer 76), Koopmeiners, Éderson (Scalvini 56), Ruggeri, De Ketelaere (Pašalić 61), Scamacca (Miranchuk 56), Lookman (El Bilal 76). Unused bench: Carnesecchi, Rossi, Bakker, Adopo, Bonfanti, Palestra, Comi. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Olympique de Marseille: Pau Lopez, Mbemba (Ounahi 59), Gigot, Balerdi, Merlin (Moumbagna 72), Clauss (Luis Henrique 72), Veretout, Kondogbia, Ndiaye (Sarr 59), Aubameyang, Harit (Correa 84). Unused bench: Ngapandouentnbu, Blanco, Meite, Soglo, Lafont, Daou, Murillo. Coach: Jean-Louis Gasset.
Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (ESP);
Assistant referees: Diego Barbero (ESP) and Ángel Nevado (ESP);
Fourth official: Mykola Balakin (UKR);
V.A.R.: Juan Martínez Munuera (ESP);
A.V.A.R.: Alejandro Hernández (ESP).
Notes: Éderson (A), de Roon (A) booked.
