Ademola Lookman broke his La Liga duck for Atletico Madrid on Saturday, netting his first goal of the season as Diego Simeone’s side thrashed Sevilla 3-1 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan to move top of the table.
Consequently, the Super Eagles winger’s return to his preferred left-wing role paid immediate dividends, following two goalless outings after he had been deployed as a makeshift false nine in Atletico’s opening matches.
Atletico wasted no time asserting control, as Alejandro Baena opened the scoring inside four minutes, finishing off Lee Kang-in’s assist to hand the visitors an early lead. Thereafter, Lookman doubled the advantage in the 26th minute, latching onto a pass from Pablo Barrios before firing a composed near-post finish beyond Sevilla goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Meanwhile, Baena completed his brace just seven minutes later, curling home from the edge of the box after being set up by Marcos Llorente, and as a result Atletico went into the break with a commanding 3-0 lead.
However, Sevilla emerged from the interval with renewed purpose, and their persistence was rewarded in the 66th minute when Miguel Sierra reacted quickest to a rebound to pull one back.
Nevertheless, Atletico held firm defensively, and late bookings for Sevilla’s Isaac Romero and Gabriel Suazo did little to change the complexion of the contest. Notably, Lookman also had a second goal ruled out for offside shortly after the restart, though it mattered little to the eventual outcome.
The victory arrived amid the ongoing Julian Alvarez transfer saga, with the Argentine striker left out of the matchday squad after being booed by his own supporters during the previous weekend’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal. Despite the noise surrounding Alvarez, who has been strongly linked with both Barcelona and Arsenal, Simeone’s side responded emphatically on the pitch.
As a result, Atletico have now collected seven points from their opening three league matches, sending them to the summit of La Liga and underlining the strength of their start to the campaign.
Lookman’s return to scoring form represents a welcome boost ahead of Nigeria’s upcoming international fixtures, particularly given his stature as one of the squad’s most influential attacking options.
Furthermore, his adaptation to a new league following his move to Atletico has been closely watched by Nigerian football followers, and this goal offers reassurance that he can still deliver end product even after a positional shuffle.
In addition, a fit and firing Lookman heading into the season strengthens Nigeria’s attacking options as the Super Eagles continue preparations for their next round of qualifiers, where his creativity and eye for goal are expected to play a central role.
Atletico Madrid will look to maintain their unbeaten start when they travel to face Athletic Club in their next league outing, and Lookman will be eager to build on his first league goal of the campaign.
Meanwhile, all eyes remain on the Alvarez situation, as speculation over his future is likely to persist regardless of the club’s on-field results. For now, however, Simeone’s side sit comfortably at the top of La Liga, and Lookman’s growing influence will be one of the key storylines to follow as the season progresses.
