Only one player has scored a hat-trick in the Champions League or Europa League final, and the answer might shock you.
A night when an Olympian rose to the top
It was a near-flawless 2023/2024 season for Bayer Leverkusen. Unbeaten in the League, Europa League and German domestic cups. With a Europa League final against Italian side Atalanta ahead of them, the odds were on Bayer to continue the run.
It was a night for boys to become men, but this night, it was a man, that became a God who would take the front pages of the footballing world by storm in 90-minutes of magic.
Enter, London-Born, and Nigerian international Ademola Lookman. Three near-perfect strikes took Atalanta to a shock 3-0 victory against the unbeaten giants from Germany but it was this former Fulham and Everton man that would put his name up in lights.
Ademola Lookman will be remembered for many years to come, by Atalanta fans, Nigerians, and Pub Quiz goers alike.
Has anyone else reached this historic feat?
Before they were known as the Champions League or the Europa League, a few players have managed this feat.
Ferenc Puskas has managed it twice for Real Madrid in the Champions Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt. Puska would do the same thing against Benfica in 1962, making him one of the greatest of all time.
Alfredo di Stefano managed it in 1960, again against Frankfurt, in fact, as you may have noticed he managed it in the very same game as Puskas did.
Pierino Prati is up next who managed to do it in the 1969 final between AC Milan and Ajax.
But in the modern era, it seems unthinkable. But, the records continue to be challenged, and who knows, maybe we’ll see the record matched sooner than we think.
