Ademola Lookman’s dominant performance against Napoli on Sunday has been adjudged the best in the Serie A Round 11 matches according to Italian sports papers.
The 27-year-old was among the goals as Atalanta humiliated Napoli 3-0 in front of their home fans at the Maradona Stadium in Naples.
Their victory was inspired by Lookman’s first-half brace and the Nigeria international – unsurprisingly – emerged as the best player from the latest weekend of action in Serie A.
As reported by Fantacalcio, Lookman’s average player rating from Italian sports papers was 8.
His Atalanta teammate Hien was also impressive in Naples, deserving a 7.5/10 rating. It’s just as much as Tengstedt got after Hellas Verona’s 3-2 victory over Roma, in which he scored a goal.
Italy strikers Mateo Retegui, Andrea Pinamonti, Moise Kean and Pietro Pellegri found the net for Atalanta, Genoa, Fiorentina and Empoli and were among the best Azzurri players in Serie A Round 11.
At the same time, Milan’s win over Monza was inspired by Mike Maignan’s saves and, most importantly, Tijjani Reijnders’ winner. Both Rossoneri stars were rated 7/10.
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Lookman’s gritty display against is regarded as one of his best performances since the Europa League final where he struck a hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen. He also pulled two goals and two-assists in the 6-1 mauling of Hellas Verona.
His rich vein of form has made him the player to beat for the coveted 2024 African Footballer of the Year crown.
“For Lookman, while the 2024 Ballon d’Or came too soon, he’s quickly been established as the favourite to win CAF’s Men’s Player of the Year award after being named in the continental governing body’s somewhat baffling 10-man shortlist for the prize,” noted Ed Dove of the ESPN.
“Lookman is surely the favourite, following his fine showings at the Africa Cup of Nations as Nigeria reached the final, his performances for Atalanta across the year, not least his Europa League-winning display,” he added.
