Europa League final is first game Granit Xhaka has lost since a defeat no Arsenal fan will want to remember
GRANIT XHAKA’s incredible 368 day undefeated run at club level is over.
The brilliant Ademola Lookman and Atalanta abruptly ended Bayer Leverkusen’s dream of an unbeaten season.
The 26-year-old forward scored a brilliant hat-trick to fire the Italian club to the Europa League at the Aviva Stadium to end their 61-year trophy drought.
Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen were only two games away from completing an incredible treble and had not lost in 51 games this season.
But for them and Swiss midfielder Xhaka, that amazing unbeaten run was blown to smithereens in Dublin.
It’s a feeling that will leave the 31-year-old sick to the stomach – especially since his last loss was one both he and Arsenal’s supporters will want to forget.
That came on May 20, 2023 when the Gunners were beaten 1-0 at Nottingham Forest to officially hand Manchester City the title.
And just to rub extra salt in the wound, matchwinner fans claimed that Lookman “sent Xhaka to a retirement home” with a genius moment in yesterday’s final.
It was his second goal that caught the eye though as the ex-Leicester and Charlton forward put the ball through Xhaka’s legs to set up the chance.
Lookman shifted his weight perfectly to meg his rival and then tee up a long-distance effort that he struck with serious venom to find the bottom corner of the net.
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Xhaka has been a crucial part of Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten side this season and has made 49 appearances, scoring three times, in all competitions.
He arrived at the Emirates in 2016 in a £35m deal from Gladbach and endured an up-and-down relationship with Gooners.
Xhaka did lift the FA Cup twice at the club but he was allowed to leave last summer for around £21.4m after Declan Rice joined Arsenal.
He and Leverkusen had already wrapped up the Bundesliga without losing a game this season – finishing 17 points ahead of second place Stuttgart and 18 points ahead of Bayern Munich in third.
And Leverkusen could win the German cup this weekend when they face second division side FC Kaiserslautern in the final on Saturday.
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But that dream of an unbeaten treble is now over after they slipped on the biggest stage and failed to lift the first European trophy for the club in over 35 years.
Xhaka said: “It’s a shame that the time it didn’t work out for us was in a final.
“It’s bitter, definitely, we lost a final today but we go on and we’ll make up for it on Saturday.”
And his manager Alonso was still full of pride for his team, as he said: “For me the result today does not change one bit how I feel about my players or what we have been doing.
“It hurts because we wanted to lift the trophy but you can’t have everything. We lifted the Bundesliga and we have the chance to lift the DFB Pokal on Saturday.
“It does not change the effort from the guys. Ok after 51 games we arrive at the 52nd and we have lost but this is football.
“The other team deserves it and we have another chance on Saturday.”
Lookman goes from Panenka laughing stock to European hat-trick hero
ADEMOLA LOOKMAN will go down in Atalanta, and European football, folklore after his stunning Europa League final hat-trick vs Bayer Leverkusen.
Lookman’s treble was the first in the final of a Uefa competition since 1975.
But some Premier League fans won’t have believed their eyes – after witnessing his infamous Panenka miss for Fulham.
Lookman was spotted playing Sunday league in Lambeth by Charlton just TEN YEARS ago, at the age of 16.
Twelve months on, in 2015, he was already the Addicks’ best player, shining on the wing in the Championship.
And before he knew it, Lookman was in the Premier League after a massive £11million move to Everton.
Lookman, by now 20, made an instant impact, scoring on his debut in 4-0 thrashing of Manchester City.
He even won the U20s World Cup with England, netting three goals in the tournament.
But he struggled to earn regular football with the Toffees, before defying boss Sam Allardyce’s wishes by snubbing a loan to Derby to push through a move to RB Leipzig instead.
Lookman impressed in the Bundesliga with five goals and earned a permanent move.
But he again failed to settle and soon found himself back in the Prem on loan with Fulham
His spell at Craven Cottage saw moments of brilliance overshadowed by costly mistakes.
None more so than his ill-fated Panenka penalty against West Ham.
Lookman’s scuffed chipped effort dropped tamely into motionless Lukasz Fabianski’s waiting hands, leading to widespread criticism and ridicule from fans and pundits alike.
A loan at Leicester followed but it was a switch to Atalanta in Serie A which saw Lookman finally fulfil his potential.
Now playing international football for Nigeria, he helped them reach the Afcon final earlier this year.
But he didn’t have to wait long to add his first senior trophy as the undisputed man-of-the-match in Dublin against the previous unbeatable Leverkusen.