Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman praised his Atletico Madrid teammates for their performance after getting themselves a 2-0 advantage from the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie against Barcelona, Footynaija.com reports.
Lookman and Atleti arrived at the Spotify Camp Nou on Wednesday night seeking to avenge last weekend’s heart-breaking La Liga defeat at the hands of Barcelona.
A red card for Barca’s Pau Cubarsi, coupled with goals from Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorlorth either side of half time ensured a 2-0 win for the Spanish capital side, giving them a crucial advantage ahead of next week’s second leg encounter at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
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Reacting to the win after full-time, Lookman, who started the match for Diego Simeone side before coming off for Sorloth on the hour mark, had plenty of praise for Atleti’s overall performance.
“It was a good result, the performance of the team, especially not to concede here. It shows the work everyone’s been doing and the togetherness,” he said while speaking to TNT Sports.
“You know, especially scoring after they had a man sent off, that was key as well. Brilliant free-kick from Julián (Alvarez) and also the timing of Alex’s (Alexander Sørloth) goal in the second half was also good.
“They are a top team of course, in situations they put you in. Difficult moments but we dug in together. It’s going to be a massive challenge, massive game. We know that. Calm heads, for sure. We’ll take each game as it comes.”
Ahead of the second leg in Madrid next week, Atletico Madrid will draw confidence from their elimination of Barcelona from the Copa Del Rey earlier in the campaign.
Before then, Los Colchoneros must first turn attention to this weekend’s trip to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan where they will take on La Liga strugglers Sevilla as they look to return to winning ways in the Spanish top flight.
