Ademola Lookman is Atalanta's hero this evening. The Atalanta star's sensational hat-trick led the Italian side to victory in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, ending the German side's unbeaten record in the process.

Lookman stunned Xabi Alonso's side with a first-half double to put Atalanta in control in Dublin. He completed his hat-trick in the second half with another stunning strike to wrap up the victory, and earn Atalanta their first-ever European trophy.

It is of course a major blow for former Liverpool midfielder Alonso, whose hopes of leading Leverkusen to a remarkable unbeaten treble this season are now over. There's no taking the headlines away from Lookman though.

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Liverpool fans of course saw the Nigeria international earlier in the competition as the Reds were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Atalanta, but they may also remember him from his time on Merseyside. Lookman was just 19 when he signed for Everton under Ronald Koeman, and he scored on his debut against Manchester City but that was as good as it got at Goodison Park as he failed to reach the heights many expected.

Lookman looked to get his career back on track in Germany before further loans at Fulham and Leicester. During the 2021/22 season, he scored the winner in Liverpool's defeat at the King Power Stadium, but the deal was not made permanent.

A move to Atalanta followed that summer and the 26-year-old has taken his career to a new level in Italy. His hat-trick in Dublin is undoubtedly his biggest achievement so far, and he might well have a Liverpool hero to thank for it.

Lookman believes he has improved considerably after watching clips of Sadio Mané, who was one of the best left-wingers in world football during his time on Merseyside. "I feel like I understand football a lot more now," he told The Athletic last month.

"When I watch games, I look for certain things in terms of movements and spaces — those little details that I never really used to look for before. The guy who I always looked at the most would have to be Mané. Looking at his threat in the box, his threat in those little tight spaces, his movement — I have watched a lot of his game in particular.”

Liverpool.com says: Big things were expected of Lookman when he joined Everton from Charlton in 2017 but he never really lived up to his promise in the Premier League. He has kicked on at Atalanta though, and his hat-trick in the Europa League final will go down as one of the most sensational performances in any final.

An original version of this article was first published on April 11. It has been updated following Atalanta's win in the Europa League final.