Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman continued his return to form yesterday, scoring his second Serie A goal of the season as Atalanta secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Fiorentina at the Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo.
The match marked Raffaele Palladino’s first home outing as Atalanta manager following last week’s defeat to Napoli and the Champions League win away to Eintracht Frankfurt. The win also ended Atalanta’s eight-match winless run in the league.
Atalanta opened the scoring through Odilon Kossounou, who fired a first-time effort into the top corner from the edge of the area after a Charles De Ketelaere lay-off. Though the strike appeared more like a wayward cross, it stood as the defender’s first Serie A goal.
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Lookman nearly doubled the lead after pouncing on a poor pass from goalkeeper David De Gea, but his effort went wide. After the break, Moise Kean connected with a Luca Ranieri cross, but his tame header posed no threat to goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.
The hosts doubled their lead when De Gea made a big reaction save from De Ketelaere’s header on a corner, but could do nothing on Lookman’s follow-up into the roof of the net.
Yesterday’s made it two goals in nine Serie A matches in the on-going campaign , marking a positive turn after a turbulent summer in which a proposed move to Inter Milan fell through.
The former African Footballer of the Year made another goal in a UEFA Champions League win at Eintracht Frankfurt last week as the countdown to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is underway.
Atalanta have now risen to 11th position in the standings with 16 points from 13 matches.
