Ademola Lookman continued his scoring form for Atalanta in their 5-0 thrashing of Empoli in the Italian Serie A clash on Sunday.
The title chasers had arguably their best player to call upon and he delivered with a brace — a few days after a bust-up with his coach that threatened the peace at the Bergamo club following their exit from the UEFA Champions League at the hands of Club Brugge on Tuesday.
Lookman had scored a goal 36 seconds after coming on as a substitute, but failed to convert a penalty for which Gian Piero Gasperini, his coach, unleashed his torrent of anger on him.
However, the 28-year-old responded to his coach’s latest remark with two goals in a match Atalanta scored thrice in the first half.
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Lookman put Atalanta 3-0 up on 43 minutes when he collected a pass and rounded the goalkeeper from a tight angle before stroking the ball into an empty net.
The 2024 African footballer of the year then lashed a shot into the far corner 10 minutes into the second half to all but seal the encounter for Atalanta.
His brace takes him up to 12 goals this season, and also moved Lookman up to second on the list of highest scoring Nigerians in the Serie A with 36 goals, jumping one goal ahead of Simy Nwankwo.
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Atalanta remain in third position in the league with 54 points from 26 matches, one behind second-placed Napoli, and three points behind table-topping Inter Milan.
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