Atalanta 3-0 Bayer Leverkusen: Xabi Alonso’s unbeaten Treble dream is OVER as former Premier League star Ademola Lookman nets stunning hat-trick in Dublin to deliver Europa League glory

The Invincibles became The Invisibles and after 51 undefeated matches, finally a chink in the armor of Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen. We never thought it would be Ademola Lookman, once of Charlton in League One, who would inflict the mortal wounds in this Europa League final. Three of them, in fact.

Atalanta may have ruined Alonso’s fairy tale and his three-time chase for the Bundesliga champions, but there is no shortage of romance when it comes to the Italian underdogs.

They barked and bit and, in Lookman, a player who embodied the adventure of Gian Piero Gasperini’s brave and brilliant side. His three goals got better as he went along, the last coming after he skinned his man with a pair of scissors before producing a dagger shot that almost tore the net.

Atalanta went on the offensive from the start and, not intimidated by the warriors who supposedly lay in wait, it was they who were the gladiators.

The reward for their daring and Lookman’s killer instinct was only the second trophy in the club’s history. The last was a Coppa Italia 61 years ago. This was their fairy tale, you see.

Ademola Lookman (right) scored a hat-trick as Atalanta beat Bayern Leverkusen 3-0 to win the Europa League

Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso could not prevent his team’s unbeaten run from coming to an abrupt end

Lookman completed his incredible hat-trick by showing excellent footwork in the penalty area and hitting his shot into the roof of the net

Leverkusen’s players recorded dismal numbers as they were dominated by Atalanta and lost the Europa League final

Alonso, meanwhile, once spent a summer in Dublin as a teenager learning English. But he would have been lost in any language after seeing how his favorites didn’t appear.

This doesn’t detract from his wonderful season – far from it – but to remain unbeaten and achieve a German Cup treble this weekend would have been historic in itself. The last team to win three unbeaten trophies in a single season was Preston North End in 1889.

Speaking of Preston, that was the level of opposition Lookman ever faced during his early days at Charlton. The winger’s promise took him to Everton, but only one Premier League goal in three seasons followed. If we had scored three points on this stage it would have caused surprise on Merseyside. But how deserved his and his team’s triumph was.

There were fireworks, flamethrowers and flares in the minutes before kick-off, but to everyone’s surprise, Leverkusen froze. That seemed almost literal in the case of Exequiel Palacios, who looked more like one of this city’s many monuments when Lookman crept in on his frozen shoulders to open the scoring in the twelfth minute.

That was coming, and the Italians were rewarded for a thrilling start when Lookman met Davide Zappacosta’s cross and fired into the top corner from eight yards. Leverkusen offered next to nothing in response and their first meaningful try didn’t come until the 35th minute, and even that was a timid lob from Alejandro Grimaldo straight into the arms of Juan Musso.

Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini shouted with joy as his side’s victory was confirmed

Alonso shared a hug with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin as he collected his second medal

Lookman poses with his player of the match award after becoming the first ever player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League final

By then Leverkusen were two behind, Lookman helping himself to a brilliant second place after 26 minutes. The Germans tried to play smartly at the goalkeeper but looked foolish when a stray pass found Lookman, who nutmegged Granit Xhaka and fired into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

For all of Leverkusen’s possession (66 percent at half-time), it felt like they were being dominated by Atalanta. That remained the same after half-time and Lookman completed his own treble in 76 minutes when he was ghosted by Edmond Tapsoba, sending horror into the hearts and minds of the Germans who had so hoped for victory.

And what does this say about next month’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund? To use horse racing logic, if the best team in Germany can’t beat the fifth best team in Italy, what chance does the fifth best team in Germany have of beating the best team in Spain?

Not that Atalanta and Lookman care. This was their evening, this was their fairy tale.