Football Italia
·15 September 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsFootball Italia
·15 September 2024
Ademola Lookman insists he is ‘enjoying’ his football with Atalanta after a tumultuous summer, while Charles De Ketelaere hails their mental strength to overturn Fiorentina 3-2.
It was a hugely entertaining game in Bergamo, as La Dea were twice trailing only to claw their way back to lead 3-2 at half-time.
Lookman was making his first Serie A appearance of the season after pulling out due to transfer interest from big clubs, but now that he is back in the fold, he made an immediate difference with an assist and a goal for Atalanta.
Mateo Retegui and De Ketelaere completed the victory, with Lucas Martinez Quarta and Moise Kean on target for Fiorentina.
“Happy to be back in front of our fans and play football here. Enjoying it, we’ve got a strong squad this season and happy to play, so we go on,” Lookman told DAZN when asked about his rather turbulent summer.
The Europa League winners will be up against Premier League contenders Arsenal in the Champions League on Thursday, a very special game for Lookman, who was born in London.
“We’re very pleased to be in the Champions League this season. We deserved that and have to demonstrate it. We want to show the same drive and mentality that we had today to come back from behind.”
De Ketelaere also spoke to DAZN after the 3-2 win over Fiorentina and praised the mentality that allowed Atalanta to resolve the crisis.
“Fiorentina scoring twice was difficult, but we proved that we have so much strength in this team to turn it around in the first half. We could’ve scored a fourth goal to make it easier for ourselves, but we held out and it was a great victory,” said De Ketelaere.
“A lot of players have changed, but we have the same ideas and the new players are settling into that.”