Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman recorded the 50th assist of his senior club career as Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 with VfB Stuttgart in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
The Nigerian set up Julian Alvarez’s equaliser shortly after half-time to help Atletico recover from a difficult first half and earn a point away from home.
Stuttgart took the lead in the 36th minute through Jamie Leweling, putting the visitors under pressure before the break. Lookman came on at half-time and made an immediate impact, picking out Alvarez just 80 seconds into the second half.
According to Transfermarkt, the assist took Lookman’s career tally to 50 in senior club football.
Speaking to Atletico Madrid’s media after the match, the forward admitted that Stuttgart had started strongly but praised his side’s response after the half-time break.
“I think they obviously started very well. A strong team playing away from home is never easy. But we wanted to try to change the tie in the second half, which we did with the goal,” he said.
Atletico’s hopes of securing all three points suffered a setback in the 64th minute when Morten Hjulmand was sent off for a reckless challenge on Angelo Stiller.
Despite playing with 10 men, the Spanish side held firm to claim a draw. Reacting to how the game went, Lookman said: “We kept pushing, but unfortunately, we went down to 10 men. We dug in, we showed our fight together, stuck together, and we took a point away from home.”
Lookman also expressed confidence in Alvarez’s finishing ability, explaining that he expected the Argentine to convert the opportunity.
“We just tried to look out for him in the box; he is deadly in the box. So, yeah, I knew he would score,” he said.
Stuttgart threatened to snatch victory late on, but Jeff Chabot headed wide from a Maximilian Mittelstädt corner.
Meanwhile, Nigerian teenager Mubarak Suleiman made history by starting for Slavia Prague in their 2-2 draw away to Fenerbahce.
According to Opta Joe, Suleiman became the first Nigerian teenager to start a Champions League match since Alex Iwobi featured for Arsenal against Barcelona in March 2016.
Join the conversation
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.