Ademola Lookman goes from Panenka penalty horror to Europa League glory with Atalanta on ‘best night of his life’

Ademola Lookman’s missed penalty against West Ham appears to be the light of a different life after his electric performance in the Europa League final.

The London-born winger powered Serie A to its first ever European trophy with a historic hat-trick on Wednesday night in Dublin, beating Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and ending their 51-match unbeaten streak.

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Three shots, three on target, three goals. Lookman produced the performance of his career as his side saw Leverkusen win 3-0.

It’s crazy to think that just under four years ago, Lookman had his head in his hands and his name was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons after a failed Panenka penalty attempt.

He had a glorious chance to score 1-1 in Fulham’s clash against West Ham in November 2020.

However, his penalty was read by Lukasz Fabianski, who easily palmed away his attempt, condemning Fulham to a 1-0 defeat.

Fast forward to the day before the Europa League final and Atalanta’s first chance at a trophy since winning the Italian Cup in 1963, and Lookman is the hero of the moment.

In the comments of a YouTube video of that failure at the London Stadium, fans rushed to hail Lookman for bouncing back from that moment.

One fan wrote: “Came here after his hat trick against Leverkusen.

“Every time I heard about Lookman, I always thought of that penalty. Now I consider him the player who produced one of the best individual performances in any European final. Insane.”

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A second said: “Coming here today after his masterclass against Leverkusen. Really a master class.”

In truth, it took a while for Lookman’s talent to be properly appreciated.

He played in the Sunday League in south London with Waterloo before Charlton recruited him for their academy in 2014.

It wasn’t long before he made his debut and a season and a half with the Addicks was enough for Premier League clubs to come sniffing and the call-ups for England’s youngsters to begin.

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Everton signed him in January 2017 for an initial fee of £7.5 million, rising to £11 million with add-ons.

But limited playing time at Goodison Park and a loan spell at RB Leipzig saw him sign for the German side. Two loans with Fulham and Leicester followed without anything really notable.

Then, in 2022, he moved permanently to Atalanta, and the rest is history.

Speaking to TNT after the match, the man of the moment said: “One of the best nights of my life.

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“Amazing performance from the team, we did it, we did it, we did it! Fantastic.

“They always say third time’s lucky, so yeah, it’s for us today (winning a final on the third try this season).

“I’m just happy we won. We won today, so yeah, very happy. 100 percent (we’re celebrating tonight)! We need to celebrate, we made history tonight.”

His father-in-law, Félix, was also overcome with emotion after the match.

“I can’t express my emotions in words, I feel so high,” he told TNT. “We’ve been dreaming of this since he was a kid at Waterloo… fantastic player, what a night.

“I cried when the third goal was scored and I’m not crying. People watching it now might say ‘what a sissy’. I’m so happy for Ade. He works hard, a quiet boy, sometimes misunderstood at because of his peace because he is a brilliant child.

“He wants to learn, always wants to improve and wants to reach the top.”

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After being able to properly settle into a club for the first time, the Nigerian star has scored 15 goals in 43 appearances for Atalanta this season.

But despite having 26 years of age and eight years of professional football under his belt, Wednesday’s final in Dublin really seems only the beginning of Lookman’s career.