Super Eagles winger Ademola Lookman made his first start of the season for Atalanta as the Italian side secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Club Brugge in their UEFA Champions League clash at the New Balance Arena on Tuesday night.
Lookman, who recently returned to the team’s training after a summer transfer dispute, was named in Ivan Juric’s starting XI as Atalanta looked to bounce back from their 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on matchday one.
The Italian side started on the front foot but failed to capitalise, allowing Brugge to grow into the game. The visitors then struck first in the 38th minute through Christos Tzolis, whose curling finish put the Belgian outfit ahead.
Atalanta regrouped after the break, with Juric turning to his bench for inspiration. Davide Zappacosta came on for Raoul Bellanova, while Yunus Musah replaced the injured Odilon Kossounou. Lookman was withdrawn on the hour mark for Kamaldeen Sulemana as the hosts chased the game.
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Their persistence paid off when Mario Pašalić won a penalty midway through the second half, which another substitute Lazar Samardžić converted to level the score.
With the contest seemingly headed for a stalemate, Atalanta struck late as Musah assisted Pašalić to get the crucial goal that sealed all three points for the Bergamo side in the dying minutes.
The result means that Atalanta and Club Brugge have both collected three points from their first two Champions League games. The Italian side have also ended their three game winless streak in the competition.
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