Atalanta wins the Europa League ends Bayer Leverkusen's unbeaten run
Sport
4 min read
The Italian football club Atalanta BC defeated the German football club Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final of the 2023-24 UEFA Europa League, played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, on 23 May 2024. The defeat ended Bayer Leverkusen's 51-match unbeaten record.
First European Trophy for Atalanta Football Club
Serie A Italian football club, Atalanta BC, was playing its first European final. It was Bayer Leverkusen's third European final, having won one and lost two.
In the final, Ademola Lookman scored twice to give a 2-0 lead to the Atalanta side at half-time and scored his third and final goal of the match in the 75 minutes of the match to seal a historic victory for his side.
End of unbeaten record for Bayer Leverkusen’s
The 2023-24 season German Bundesliga Champion Bayer Leverkusen faltered in the final match, ending its dream unbeaten run of 51 games, lasting 361 days. Its last defeat before the Europa League final was to Vfl Bochum in May 2023.
Bayer Leverkusen was looking for its second European title. The team won the 1988 UEFA Cup, which was replaced by UEFA (Union of Football Association) with the UEFA Cup in 1971.
Bayer Leverkusen won its first-ever Bundesliga title this season (2023-24) by winning 28, drawing 6, and losing none of its 34 league games.
Before the Europa League final, Bayer Leverkusen had the chance to become the first team in Europe to win three major trophies without losing a single game.
Despite losing the Europa League final, they still have a chance to win the DFB Pokal (German cup). They will play the final of the DFB Pokal against Kaiserslautern on 25 May 2024.
UEFA Europa League
The Europa League is organised by the European Football governing body UEFA. It is considered the second most prestigious football tournament for European professional football clubs after the Champions League.
The Europa League was started by UEFA in 1971, replacing the UEFA Cup.
Sevilla football club of Spain is the most successful team in the tournament, having won it seven times.
The Cup has been won 14 times by a club of Spain.
