Nigeria international Ademola Lookman has hailed Atletico Madrid’s impressive display against Barcelona in the Spanish Copa del Rey semifinal showdown.
Lookman, who secured a move to the Spanish outfit in the winter window lasted the entire duration, as his outfit cruised to a resounding 4-0 victory over the Catalan giants in the first leg clash, held at the Metropolitano Stadiu.
The enterprising attacker scored and registered an assist, contributing to the sides thumping of Barcelona on Wednesday.
Speaking after the match, the former Atalanta attacker expressed satisfaction with the side outstanding performance against Barcelona.
“The team’s performance tonight was top. I just try to be in the right place at the right time. We knew what we had to do today, and we did it. The love that’s been shown to me has made it easy to settle in,” he told Sporty TV.
The hosts wasted no time asserting their dominance, taking the lead as early as the sixth minute when Barcelona defender Eric Garcia inadvertently turned the ball into his own net under pressure.
Atletico continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded again in the 14th minute, with Antoine Griezmann reacting sharply inside the box to guide a low finish past the goalkeeper.
Lookman then took centre stage midway through the first half. In the 33rd minute, the Nigerian attacker found space in the area to latch onto a precise pass from Julian Alvarez before calmly finishing into the bottom right corner to make it 3-0.
His influence was not done there, as he turned provider deep into first-half stoppage time. Lookman set up Alvarez on the edge of the box, and the Argentine forward struck an accurate shot inside the left post to give Atletico a commanding four-goal cushion before the break.
Barcelona thought they had pulled one back just before half-time when Pau Cubarsi converted from close range, but celebrations were cut short following a VAR review, with the goal ruled out for offside.
The decision left the visitors visibly deflated as they headed into the interval trailing heavily.
With a goal and an assist on the night, Lookman was instrumental in one of Atletico Madrid’s most emphatic performances of the season, leaving Barcelona facing a daunting task ahead of the second leg.
