Atlético Madrid manager Diego Simeone has identified Ademola Lookman’s ability to beat opponents in one-on-one situations as a key quality his team must exploit after the Nigerian forward ended his goal drought against Manchester United, Footynaija reports.
Lookman scored in Atlético’s victory over the Premier League side on Tuesday night, bringing an end to a run of six games without finding the net.
The Super Eagles forward reacted quickest inside the penalty area to convert a rebound after Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens parried Jonathan Davies’ effort.
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Although Lookman came off the bench, his contribution gave Atlético another attacking threat and offered encouragement after a difficult start to the campaign.
Speaking after the match, Simeone praised the Nigerian’s attacking qualities, hailed his statistics, goalscoring ability and capacity to trouble defenders in individual duels.
“He’s a very important player, he has very good stats, he scores goals, he’s good in one-on-one situations,” Simeone said.
However, Simeone also acknowledged that Lookman has yet to consistently deliver the level of performance expected of him.
“He’s not at that point where that comes through, but he’s rediscovered his scoring touch, he had the instinct to follow up the play and the rebound worked in his favor. We got a win we needed,” he explained.
Lookman’s goal was a reminder of his instincts inside the box, but the challenge now is to turn that moment into sustained improvement.
The Nigerian had scored just once across all competitions before facing Manchester United.
He will be keen to continue making an impact for Atlético Madrid when the club returns to La Liga action at the weekend against Espanyol.
