Ademola Lookman was the hero as Atalanta ended 2023 on a winning note courtesy of a slim 1-0 victory against Leece at the Gewiss Stadium.
Lookman scored the decisive goal two minutes before the hour mark with Gianluca Scamacca providing the assist.
The winger has now scored seven goals and provided three assists in 18 league appearances for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side this season.
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The 26-year-old was replaced in stoppage time by Aleksey Miranchuk.
Lookman will now join Nigeria for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Super Eagles will open camp for the competition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, January.
1 Comment
With what I have seen so far, looking at the strength and weakness of the S/E and the choice of players the Coach has chosen, it is safe to say our best formation is 3-4-2-1/3-4-3.
These are the players to execute this without bias.
Defenders:
Awaizem-Ajayi/Ekong-Bassey
Aina-Iwobi-Ndidi-Zaidu/Moses.
Iheanacho-Victor-Lookman.
This formation will give us solidity at the defence I opted for Bassey and Awaizem on the flanks of the back 3 because they are relatively young and the fastest of the five we have, any of Ekong or Ajayi would do at the middle.
For the midfield, we all know Aina can produce some offensive replay and can also help the defence. For the left flank of the midfield, either Zaidu or Moses, depending on whether we want to attack or be more assured defensively. Iwobi and Ndidi will do well in the middle of the park.
For the attack, there should be flexibility allowing the 3 mentioned players to move from one position to another. All of them have goals in them.
This formation also means that we have 2 playmakers in Iwobi and Iheanacho, meaning that we will be able to create chances. Also, our wingbacks can roam forward to make crosses, if they do so, we will have at least 3 strikers already in the opponents’ box 18.