Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman has seen his dreams of clinching Atalanta’s Goal of the Season award narrowly slip through his fingers, Soccernet.ng reports.
The dazzling Super Eagles winger was pipped at the post by Colombian forward Luis Muriel in a nail-biting, competitive voting session.
The best of Atalanta’s 106 goals during the 2023/24 season were drawn into six groups.
Lookman had his excellent second goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Europa League dominate Group A while his third goal against the Germans made it out of Group D.
The two goals, however, faced off in the quarterfinals where that sumptuous second striker versus Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the next stage.
The goal then saw off the challenge of Ruggeri’s tomahawk against Olympique Marseille in the semifinal of the contest, winning with 73% of the votes cast.
In the final, Lookman’s goal stood against Muriel’s audacious backheel against AC Milan and it was the Colombian star’s strike that ultimately captured the hearts and votes of the fans.
The goal netted in injury time to hand Atalanta a 3-2 win over Milan won 53% of the final vote and ended Lookman’s quest for a treble of titles.
Despite the narrow miss, Lookman’s achievements this season remain remarkable, having already bagged Atalanta’s Player of the Month for May-June and the Player of the Season awards.
The Super Eagles striker was at the weekend named the Best African International Footballer at the Ghana Football Awards in Accra.
The former Everton and Leicester City ace is also a strong contender for the CAF Africa Player Player of the Year award.
