⚽UEFA Europa League Discussion Thread -- 2023/24 | Winner: Atalanta

[buwaytress]

But they don't even get complacent in the Bundesliga after already declaring the championship.

Hopefully Xabi Alonso maintains the series until the end of the season with 3 championships in hand:

They are the anti-complacency team. 5-0 wipeout and they were actually wasteful with chances!

No matter what happens, though, even if they lose the treble, and only have Bundesliga, they are already a team who have surpassed Arsenal's Invincibles. Sorry Gooners but you guys went a season undefeated in the Prem League but Leverkusen are 50 games unbeaten in ANY competition.

I don't care if they end up losing both cups, they are already the best team Europe has ever seen. Liverpool made a record in England for saving the most points in injury time. But Leverkusen blew that out of the water. Comeback kings.

[Distraction]

No matter what happens, though, even if they lose the treble, and only have Bundesliga, they are already a team who have surpassed Arsenal's Invincibles. Sorry Gooners but you guys went a season undefeated in the Prem League but Leverkusen are 50 games unbeaten in ANY competition.

I don't care if they end up losing both cups, they are already the best team Europe has ever seen. Liverpool made a record in England for saving the most points in injury time. But Leverkusen blew that out of the water. Comeback kings.

That record of Arsenal was also insane, yeah.    However doing it for much longer and in all competitions included is just a very admirable job. Great job Xabi Alonso!

Leverkusen are really the best with comebacks now. I have found a video which Leverkusen YouTube channel shared related to all their last minute goals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQmSkjA2D9U


Today is the day for the finale!    I can see the odds like:



Truthfully, a regular time win by Leverkusen is my expectation and the odds look nice. I don't underestimate Atalanta of course but it really difficult for them to stop this team. If Xabi Alonso prefers a cautious game then maybe we might see extra time.

[buwaytress]

No matter what happens, though, even if they lose the treble, and only have Bundesliga, they are already a team who have surpassed Arsenal's Invincibles. Sorry Gooners but you guys went a season undefeated in the Prem League but Leverkusen are 50 games unbeaten in ANY competition.

That record of Arsenal was also insane, yeah.    However doing it for much longer and in all competitions included is just a very admirable job. Great job Xabi Alonso!
~
Truthfully, a regular time win by Leverkusen is my expectation and the odds look nice. I don't underestimate Atalanta of course but it really difficult for them to stop this team. If Xabi Alonso prefers a cautious game then maybe we might see extra time.

They did it in Bundesliga so that alone equalled Arsenal's Invincibles so any doubts lingering were gone with that kind of performance. Beat Arsenal's points total, goals scored. What a team.

And now, just two cups away from perfection. I'm not even a Bayer fan but I'm dreaming already, what a memory to treasure.

No value in tonight's game though. 0-0 is also a distinct possibility if I understand the way the Italians will play

[LTU_btc]

They did it in Bundesliga so that alone equalled Arsenal's Invincibles so any doubts lingering were gone with that kind of performance. Beat Arsenal's points total, goals scored. What a team.

And now, just two cups away from perfection. I'm not even a Bayer fan but I'm dreaming already, what a memory to treasure.

No value in tonight's game though. 0-0 is also a distinct possibility if I understand the way the Italians will play

That's even more incredible considering that there is less rounds in Bundesliga than EPL.
Not that I would be Leverkusen fan, but I will support them tonight and then DFB Pokal final. Really want to see them making something what it would be difficult to repeat.
Put some money on Bayer and also BTTS. Don't want to see 0:0 final at all, but wouldn't be against extra time and penalties .

[boltz]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens 

[RaltcoinsB]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens 

We are now in the final minutes for Leverkusen. In the match where Lookman played heroically, Atalanta maintained its 2-0 advantage. The 51-game series will end tonight unless a big miracle happens. What a terrible ending for Xabi and Leverkusen. Since it was the final, I believed that Atalanta would play great, and they did. So far everything is perfect. A miracle probably won't happen in the last 10 minutes.

[Rengga Jati]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens 

In fact, in the semi-final second leg against Roma, Roma was also ahead by 2 goals and in the end, at the last moment, Leverkusen was able to score 2 goals and ended in a draw. However, the conditions may be a little different this time. This is the semi-finals, where each club will definitely try very optimally, and will narrow the opponent's chances of scoring goals if they are ahead like this. Meanwhile here, this time, Leverkusen, they dominated the ball, but they were unable to get further into the defensive area. So yes, their dominance is in vain. Because what is also important is their shots on target.

I'm quite confused about Xabi, why did he take such a risky step by not fielding all the key players and their main players as starters. Even though this is final, we cannot speculate further like before. Meanwhile, Atalanta is also the top Serie A club which is stronger than Roma. Does Xabi think it will be the same as previous farms and is he very confident in his decision?
Ah well, even though we all hope Leverkusen can do it. However, if in the end Atalanta, a club from Serie A, is able to stop Leverkusen's unbeaten run, that means Atalanta is playing very excellently this time.



Anyway, I think it's done.
Leverkusen won't be able to turn it back to be winner. Should I congratulate Atalanta this time?

[Spaceman1000$]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens  

Lookman just made it 3-0, the unbeatable record has come to an end for Bayern 04 Leverkusen, Atalanta had already done the damage by scoring that initial 2-0, so even when Leverkusen tried to fight back in this second half, yet it's not looking like is going to yield any results, because in the initial start of the second half they where really  trying to put some pressure on Atalanta, but the Atalanta defence has been strong like the wall of Gibraltar. They deserve the trophy, they've shown consistency and they've been incredible with their performance, so they deserve the win. congratulations to Atalanta the champions of the Europa league.

[buwaytress]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens 

Comeback never arrived. They weren't playing particularly badly but Lookman took his shots so well, it's really hard to begrudge Atalanta this win. Comprehensive, hattrick hero, this was definitely worth throwing Serie A away, expect them to flop badly in their remaining games ha!

It's a familiar Liverpool theme, Alonso, you might take a page out of their history book to ensure you don't make that mistake next season.

Good final, overall, see you gentlemen next season?

[Fiatless]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens  

Lookman just made it 3-0, the unbeatable record has come to an end for Bayern 04 Leverkusen, Atalanta had already don the damage by scoring that initial 2-0, so even when Leverkusen tried to fight back in this second half, yet it's not looking like is going to yield any results, because the initial start of the second half they where really  trying to put some pressure on Atalanta, but the Atalanta defence has been strong like the wall of Gibraltar. They deserve the trophy, they've shown consistency and they've been incredible with their performance, so they deserve the win. congratulations to Atalanta the champions of Europa league.

After the African Cup of Nations where Ademola Lookman put up a classy performance, I never heard much about him anymore. Today he has emerged as the hero of Atalanta and a curse to Bayer Leverkusen. His three goals were so wonderful that Bayer's goalkeeper had no chance to save them. The wonderful season that Bayer had enjoyed before now has been dashed by the Nigerian. Xabi Alonso knows that it is all over and he should focus on winning a second trophy through the German Cup. Congratulations to Atalanta because many people including me predicted that they would never win this game.

[Unknown01]

When I first looked at Leverkusen's starting eleven, I was afraid that they might lose a game for the first time in this season, but I didn't want to believe that Xabi Alonso would make a mistake. Firstly, Boniface was missing - why? Atalanta's defence is physically very strong and Adli was lost in it - after Boniface was substituted on, you could see that he was able to put the defence under more pressure. Then there was another big mistake in defence: Lookman had an easy game - he should have been covered by a faster defender. And another problem was Wirtz's form: unfortunately he came back from an injury and simply wasn't ready for the starting eleven - it would have been more effective to bring him on in the second half.

It's a shame that Leverkusen couldn't win the EL, but they played an incredibly good season and only had one bad game.

[Spaceman1000$]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens  

Lookman just made it 3-0, the unbeatable record has come to an end for Bayern 04 Leverkusen, Atalanta had already don the damage by scoring that initial 2-0, so even when Leverkusen tried to fight back in this second half, yet it's not looking like is going to yield any results, because the initial start of the second half they where really  trying to put some pressure on Atalanta, but the Atalanta defence has been strong like the wall of Gibraltar. They deserve the trophy, they've shown consistency and they've been incredible with their performance, so they deserve the win. congratulations to Atalanta the champions of Europa league.

After the African Cup of Nations where Ademola Lookman put up a classy performance, I never heard much about him anymore. Today he has emerged as the hero of Atalanta and a curse to Bayer Leverkusen. His three goals were so wonderful that Bayer's goalkeeper had no chance to save them. The wonderful season that Bayer had enjoyed before now has been dashed by the Nigerian. Xabi Alonso knows that it is all over and he should focus on winning a second trophy through the German Cup. Congratulations to Atalanta because many people including me predicted that they would never win this game.

Sincerely speaking Ademola lookman has been incredible, I never really knew much about him not until the African Nations cup where I first saw him please for the Nigerian national team, the young man is a bunch of talent that is firing from all cylinders, keeping a record of being the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa league final, that's huge.
I never even thought for a second that Atalanta will beat Bayern Leverkusen, I thought that leverkusen where the big boys who had the show and Atalanta where the underdogs, but now the underdogs that i thought are now the champions.

[Zackz5000]

51 games without defeat for Levekusen is about to end tonight against Atalanta with 2-0 in first half. I also don't think Leverkusen will have the necessary resources to comeback in 2nd half and score 2 goals but I do see them scoring once. However ,if a miracle happens again for them , I think they will be one of the most luckiest teams in football history to always comeback game after game and if you don't believe in magic , you should if this happens  

51 game without been defected is insane for Leverkusen. They have  been tremendous this season in all competition I really applaud the team and the manager Xabi Alonso it has not been easy. Though I never believed they will loss to Atalanta tonight talk more of lossing 3 zero against Atalanta, Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman scoring all goal taking a ball home as a reward for a hatric scored. Despite been 2 goals down at first half I thought they will do magic as usual but unfortunately it didn't work out as I thought, all thesame Congratulations to Atalanta the new UEFA Europa league Champion.

[CLS63]

Comeback never arrived. They weren't playing particularly badly but Lookman took his shots so well, it's really hard to begrudge Atalanta this win. Comprehensive, hattrick hero, this was definitely worth throwing Serie A away, expect them to flop badly in their remaining games ha!

It's a familiar Liverpool theme, Alonso, you might take a page out of their history book to ensure you don't make that mistake next season.

Good final, overall, see you gentlemen next season?

I was still considering the possibility for a comeback even while it was 2-0. Because I remember their comeback against Roma by scoring 2 goals in last 10 minutes. But Lookman just closed the door to them.    It was absolutely a huge performance by him. Atalanta really managed to counter Leverkusen by a big victory. By the way Xabi Alonso's choices made me surprised. He didn't start with his main goalkeeper and strikers. I wonder what he was thinking. 

[lalabotax]

When I first looked at Leverkusen's starting eleven, I was afraid that they might lose a game for the first time in this season, but I didn't want to believe that Xabi Alonso would make a mistake. Firstly, Boniface was missing - why? Atalanta's defence is physically very strong and Adli was lost in it - after Boniface was substituted on, you could see that he was able to put the defence under more pressure. Then there was another big mistake in defence: Lookman had an easy game - he should have been covered by a faster defender. And another problem was Wirtz's form: unfortunately he came back from an injury and simply wasn't ready for the starting eleven - it would have been more effective to bring him on in the second half.

You're not the only one to think about this. I also assume there is something wrong with the starting lineup of Leverkusen. They don't have Boniface as their main striker there, Boniface is on the bench. This is something no sense for me. Why Xabi Alonso sends their best striker on the bench? He also doesn't use Patrik Schick as their second best striker.

Atalanta is an Italian team, all Italian teams have strong defenders. It is just annoying to see Leverkusen playing with no sharp strikers. Ideally, Xabi Alonso must play with 2 strong strikers (both Boniface and Patrik Schick). If he used both the strikers, this will make Leverkusen playing more offensive and create many opportunities.

I think Wirtz has no problem with his performance. He has no good partners in the attacking line, Adli isn't a typical player who has great attacking as Boniface and Patrik Schick.

It's a shame that Leverkusen couldn't win the EL, but they played an incredibly good season and only had one bad game.

I don't want to say Xabi Alonso a bit underestimates Atalanta but it is what I see from the starting lineup. Leverkusen played perfectly before this match, I think it make them to be overconfident. This must be a big lesson for Xabi Alonso and the players.

[Dailyscript]

When I first looked at Leverkusen's starting eleven, I was afraid that they might lose a game for the first time in this season, but I didn't want to believe that Xabi Alonso would make a mistake. Firstly, Boniface was missing - why? Atalanta's defence is physically very strong and Adli was lost in it - after Boniface was substituted on, you could see that he was able to put the defence under more pressure. Then there was another big mistake in defence: Lookman had an easy game - he should have been covered by a faster defender. And another problem was Wirtz's form: unfortunately he came back from an injury and simply wasn't ready for the starting eleven - it would have been more effective to bring him on in the second half.

It's a shame that Leverkusen couldn't win the EL, but they played an incredibly good season and only had one bad game.

Kudos to Atlanta it has not been easy for them, and to Bayern Leverkusen as well for having a good performance today. Even if Bayern Leverkusen did not win the Europa cup they have won the Bundesliga and that's enough to celebrate for a season well played. Meanwhile Lookman has had his first ever hat trick in a final competition not just that but a hattrick  in the Europa competition. He has represented his club well today and he has also represent his country's Nigeria. Soo enough we will be hearing news of interest in buying the talented player.

[LTU_btc]

I was still considering the possibility for a comeback even while it was 2-0. Because I remember their comeback against Roma by scoring 2 goals in last 10 minutes. But Lookman just closed the door to them.    It was absolutely a huge performance by him. Atalanta really managed to counter Leverkusen by a big victory. By the way Xabi Alonso's choices made me surprised. He didn't start with his main goalkeeper and strikers. I wonder what he was thinking. 

Seems that most of us were waiting for Bayer comeback after they were down 2:0. After similar things already happened many times this season. They were in even more complicated situation, like against Qarabag (you can see full long list of their late goals there https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1cf1502/bayer_leverkusens_90_minute_goals_this_season/?rdt=64309). But this time it didn't happened.
It wasn't same Bayer as we saw all season long. Wouldn't say that Atalanta played phenomenal game, Lookman simply used every moment that he had, Atalanta fully deserved to win this trophy. Gasperini turned mediacore team into big force and finally his efforts were rewarded with a trophy.

[buwaytress]

I was still considering the possibility for a comeback even while it was 2-0. Because I remember their comeback against Roma by scoring 2 goals in last 10 minutes. But Lookman just closed the door to them.    It was absolutely a huge performance by him. Atalanta really managed to counter Leverkusen by a big victory. By the way Xabi Alonso's choices made me surprised. He didn't start with his main goalkeeper and strikers. I wonder what he was thinking. 

Yeah 10/1 odds after the second goal had me really, really tempted. They've been behind 2 goals 7 or 8 times this season and always came back -- only problem was, those comebacks usually result in draws and 4/1 just didn't interest me at all.

Call it inexperience on the big stage. Or the treble/quadruple dream that kills all but the most experienced sides. Liverpool knows how that feels like...

[Rengga Jati]

[Sincerely speaking Ademola lookman has been incredible, I never really knew much about him not until the African Nations cup where I first saw him please for the Nigerian national team, the young man is a bunch of talent that is firing from all cylinders, keeping a record of being the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa league final, that's huge.

Exactly, the performance is truly stunning. 3 goals from himself, and this was in the UEFA Europe League final, not the domestic league. In the transfer market, he will definitely become one of the new targets for other big clubs and the price will definitely be quite high. Yes, that's because, apart from being a club competition event, a big league like this, especially in the final match, is also an opportunity for each player to show their best abilities. Yes, it just remains to be seen how he will appear in the future.

Ahh, finally, Atalanta really beat Leverkusen this season, broke the unbeaten record of Leverkusen, and took the trophy. Really appreciate Atalanta's performance and intelligence in optimizing their chances, which in fact were quite small, but actually brought big wins. Yes, because if we look at the statistics alone, they are not good enough, especially if we look at ball possession, far below Leverkusen. but in the end, it actually gave them an opportunity for a counter attack that couldn't be resisted.



Just look at the statistics, Atalanta only had 33% ball possession, and what's more, they didn't pass much. However, if you look at their attacks, shots and shots on target, it is actually the opposite, much more. So indeed this time, Atalanta was really impressive, because they were able to optimize this opportunity to provide significant attacks with quite a bit of ball possession. The effectiveness of their attacks is very good and accurate here.

[Huppercase]

After the African Cup of Nations where Ademola Lookman put up a classy performance, I never heard much about him anymore. Today he has emerged as the hero of Atalanta and a curse to Bayer Leverkusen. His three goals were so wonderful that Bayer's goalkeeper had no chance to save them. The wonderful season that Bayer had enjoyed before now has been dashed by the Nigerian. Xabi Alonso knows that it is all over and he should focus on winning a second trophy through the German Cup. Congratulations to Atalanta because many people including me predicted that they would never win this game.

The moment Lookman bottle brace against Leverkusen, it was all written over Xavi Alonso face that the guy has destroyed what he single handedly carry from the beginning of the season. The guy made it look easy to make history as first player to score hatrick in history of European final, that was crazy. The goal would have been more but some were over the bar. I think man is definitely going to win the next African best player award considering what he has done this season.

I don't know if I should blame entire Leverkusen or just blame only Xavi Alonso, the way the players were running on that field looks like they weren't even ready, they didn't look serious or too focus, the defense was loose because Lookman penetrate it like it was nothing, man was displaying Mbape of Africa yesterday. Xavi would have made substitute for that defenders atleast to prevent further damage immediately the brace but he didn't and they went lose for the third time.