Ivan Juric, the manager of Atalanta, has praised Ademola Lookman for his performance in Tuesday night’s UEFA Champions League comeback victory over Club Brugge.
At the Gewiss Stadium, the Italian team, who had fallen down early on, displayed tenacity to rally against Nicky Hayen’s team. Lookman, who started for the first time this season, was instrumental in maintaining Atalanta’s offensive intensity. Ederson, the center-back, also made a comeback from injury to play, providing much-needed defensive consistency.
Juric expressed his happiness with the two players’ performance to Sky Sport Italia, saying, “They’re quality players.” They have been training with us for some time, and I believe that now is a good time for them to begin participating in games.
Thanks to a regrettable own goal from Richard Rios, Chelsea also won the Champions League at Stamford Bridge, defeating Benfica 1-0.
Despite the outcome, manager Enzo Maresca acknowledged that his team needs to strengthen their defense in preparation for more difficult games. The Italian strategist is concerned about the Blues’ recent three-game losing streak, which has seen them give up three goals.
In his post-match remarks, Maresca remarked, “The effort was very good.”
“In terms of ball management and opportunity creation, I believe we performed better in the first half than in the second. We lost the second half. We have given up two or three goals in the last two or three games, and that is not feasible. A clean sheet is wonderful, but we need to improve defensively.
