Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman has praised Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash on Tuesday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Atalanta will be looking to claim a big scalp when they welcome 15-time UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid to the Gewiss Stadium on Tuesday.
In terms of stature, Atalanta are quite miniature when placed beside Los Blancos. However, La Dea are 19 places above the Spanish kings, with five points between them.
Atalanta have most of their stars available for the game, bar Juan Cuadrado, Giorgio Scalvini, and Gianluca Scamacca, who are suffering from different injuries. Real Madrid, on the other hand, will be without David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, and Fernandes Mendy. Nonetheless, they will be boosted by the return of their biggest attacking threat Vinicius Junior.
Ahead of the game, Lookman has been impressive for Atalanta this season has showered praises on Vinicius Junior.
“Yeah he's (Vinicius Junior) one of the top players in the world, he shows that consistently time and time again, in the league and the Champions League. So he's one of the top players in the world for sure,” Lookman told TNT Sports.
The Brazilian forward has already produced four goals this season, and he will be a big threat for the Atalanta backline.
Meanwhile, Atalanta will be banking on Lookman, who has been very reliable this season. The Nigerian attacker has already produced ten goals and five assists in 17 appearances. He will be looking to produce another big performance for La Dea and push them higher up the league standings.
This should be a great Champions League clash! Even though Atalanta are underdogs, it’s cool to see Lookman acknowledging Vinicius Junior’s talent. Respectful rivalry!