Atalanta BC’s Ademola Lookman, Matteo Ruggeri and El Bilal Toure on Thursday all got on the scoresheet to send the Italian side to their first Europa League final with a 3-0 win over Olympique de Marseille for a 4-1 aggregate victory.
They are to play Bayer 04 Leverkusen, who overcame AS Roma, in their first European final in Dublin on May 22.
Lookman put Atalanta ahead in the semi-final second leg after half an hour with a long-range strike past Pao Lopez before setting up Ruggeri to net seven minutes after the break.
Photo: AFP
Atalanta’s repeated attacks, with Gianluca Scamacca and Davide Zappacosta threatening, overwhelmed the visitors, who had few chances. Substitute Toure put the nail in Marseille’s coffin with their third goal four minutes into stoppage-time.
“My first goal in Bergamo is a very big emotion,” Ruggeri told SkySports Italia. “Now we can dream with our eyes open that we’re in the final. It’s a moment to celebrate with our people.”
Atalanta are aiming for a trophy double as they also face Juventus in the Coppa Italia on Wednesday next week, with their 1963 Coppa Italia triumph being their only major silverware.
Photo: Reuters
Regarding the Europa League, coach Gian Piero Gasperini told a news conference: “It will be a historic occasion for a team like ours who don’t have the numbers [of fans] to win. It’s really incredible, but it bodes well for everyone.”
CONFERENCE LEAGUE
AFP, PIRAEUS, Greece
Olympiakos face ACF Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final after making history on Thursday with their 2-0 win against Aston Villa in their semi-final second leg.
Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side clinched a 6-2 aggregate triumph thanks to a double from Villa’s chief tormentor Ayoub El Kaabi, who hit a hat-trick in the first leg.
On a raucous night at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Olympiakos, champions of Greece a record 47 times, booked their first appearance in a major European final.
The only other Greek club to reach a European final were Panathinaikos, who were beaten by Ajax in the 1971 European Cup final.
Fiorentina booked their return to the showpiece by defeating Club Brugge 4-3 on aggregate in the other semi-final on Wednesday.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS