Atalanta Striker Ademola Lookman will be relied on to continue his impressive form when La Dea take on Inter Milan at the San Siro in the Coppa Italia semi-finals on Tuesday (today). PUNCH Sports supplement the reports
Lookman has scored seven goals in his last four games in all competitions for Atalanta, who are unbeaten in six games and will be aiming for his second goal against the Nerazzurri, who have suffered just one defeat in their last nine games. .
Inter have already beaten Atalanta this campaign, winning 3-2 away in the league when the two sides met in November, and after reaching the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia in the last three seasons, they will be confident. to secure a place in the finals.
Ahead of the tie and Lookman’s performance, Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said: “Lookman had an exceptional performance for Atalanta this season and we hope to continue that against Inter tomorrow.
“Since he arrived he has played immediately and was always involved in the games.
“He immediately showed that he has experience, and he had a significant growth in clubs that know football.
“It was in Leipzig, then he played in England. He worked there rather far from the goal, but I immediately realized that he had the right qualities for what we had been looking for for a long time.’
Atalanta Sporting director Lee Congerton also praised the Nigerian forward, stating that Lookman fit the type of player the club wanted.
“Very well, he had already seen the team play from February to March: there were important negotiations with the other players, but he was always convinced of Lookman’s qualities, how I played and how I wanted to use him. He fit right in right away.”
His goal contribution is driving Atalanta’s pursuit of a European ticket for next season, with the club sitting fourth in the Serie A standings with 38 points from 20 games.
Inter have added a trophy to their collection this season, winning the Italian Supercoppa earlier this month with a 3-0 win over rivals AC Milan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
They earned their place in the Super Cup by winning last year’s Cup, and are looking to win the cup competition in back-to-back seasons, which they achieved in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns.
After suffering a surprise defeat against Empoli, Simone Inzaghi’s side returned to winning ways last weekend, a brace from Lautaro Martinez securing a 2-1 away win against Cremonese.
