Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has expressed satisfaction at the performance of Ademola Lookman after another impressive outing by the Nigerian forward in their 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid on Sunday.
The Super Eagles star showed his big-game mentality once again, scoring the opener in his first-ever Madrid derby appearance and became the eighth Atletico Madrid player to achieve the feat.
Lookman broke the deadlock with a brilliant finish in a move he started himself, netting just his second La Liga goal since his arrival during the winter transfer window.
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The 28-year-old has now scored five times and provided four assists across all competitions since the €40 million move from Atalanta.
Atletico went on to lose Sunday night’s affair 3-2 as they missed the chance to move back into third position on the standings.
Vinicius Junior equalized for the home side, before Federico Valverde put them back in front few minutes later.
Nahuel Molina briefly pulled Atletico level in the clash, but Vinicius grabbed his second of the night as Real Madrid sealed the victory, despite a late red card to Valverde in the clash.
Simeone lauds Lookman’s performance against Real Madrid
Speaking after his side’s narrow defeat to their city rivals, Simeone was pleased with the improvements shown by Lookman, who was also on the scoresheet in the clash.
“Well, Lookman is improving, he’s been working very hard. The truth is, he’s been giving us different things in attack, and we need him that way”, Simeone remarked.
“We’re also helping him develop defensively so he can help us work on our defense, which he’s already capable of because he’s a kid with a huge heart and an incredible willingness to learn and improve.
“So that’s fantastic, and hopefully he’ll continue to give us important things like he did today.”
The Atletico Madrid manager also believed that his side could have done better in the clash, urging for improvements in their upcoming matches.
“We needed to control the game better, create more dangerous chances, and we weren’t able to put into practice what I’m talking about”, Simeone concluded.
Atletico return to action after the international break with a tough test against Barcelona, hoping to return to winning ways.
