Tremendous Eagles star Ademola Lookman was denied his first UEFA Champions League objective of the season by VAR, however Atalanta nonetheless claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Marseille on Wednesday evening.
The Nigerian ahead thought he had opened the scoring within the 69th minute after Raoul Bellanova’s low cross discovered him unmarked for a easy tap-in.
Nonetheless, the celebration was minimize quick as VAR dominated him offside within the build-up, forcing frustration on the Atalanta bench.
Lookman, who has endured a difficult begin to the marketing campaign, was substituted within the seventy fifth minute by coach Ivan Juric, following one other industrious but luckless show in entrance of objective.
Samardzic’s late winner
Atalanta’s persistence lastly paid off when substitute Lazar Samardzic fired dwelling within the 89th minute, sealing three important factors and preserving their Champions League marketing campaign alive.
The sport additionally featured a compelling duel between Lookman and Aubameyang, two of Africa’s most prolific forwards, each of whom got here shut however did not convert their probabilities.
Worldwide réunion looms
The pair are set to face one another once more subsequent week when Nigeria tackle Gabon within the 2026 FIFA World Cup playoff in Morocco. The Tremendous Eagles shall be looking for a decisive victory to strengthen their bid for qualification.