Ademola Lookman’s debut, after joining Atletico Madrid, and his first goal for the club, came against Barcelona, and only a few months later, he’ll now prepare to face off against the LaLiga side a whopping three times in only 10 days. In a unique outcome, that has only happened due to both teams progression in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League, the two clubs will meet six times this season, with Lookman standing to be involved in five of those meetings.
How to watch Atletico Madrid vs. Barcelona, odds
- Date: Saturday, April 4 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Riyadh Air Metropolitano — Madrid, Spain
- Live stream: ESPN+
- Odds: Atletico Madrid +210; Draw +290; Barcelona +115
Lookman’s move to join the club from Atalanta during the January transfer window has Atletico Madrid in the midst of one of their best seasons in a while as they’re one win from securing a Copa Del Rey title while also having a chance at knocking Barcelona out of Champions League pla,y but these are things that aren’t suprising Lookman as he looks to help this team in any way that he can.
“I think obviously Atleti is a massive, massive club, on all fronts. You know, I noticed that before I came here, and being here, it’s a lot bigger and it’s right in your face. And I think that the squad is full of amazing players, qualities, and we want to compete,” Lookman said. “We’re competing on all fronts in three different competitions, which is a credit to everybody here, credit to the staff, credit to the players, and credit to the mentality here. The mentality is to win as much as we can, win the games that are in front of us, and we take every game as they come, and we’re looking forward to the games ahead.”
That mentality is part of the effect of playing for Diego Simeone. Lookman said that the manager was demanding when asked to describe what it’s like playing for him, and he also expanded that because he demands so much from his players, it makes him want to perform at his best, which will be needed to win these games. He already has two matches against Barcelona to fall back on when looking for experience, despite them ending in very different ways. Atleti won the first match for their two-legged Copa del Rey semifinal 4-0, before losing the away tie 3-0, to just squeak into the final. On the bright side, winning the two home matches by a crooked scoreline could be more than enough to see Atleti make it to the last four teams standing in the Champions League while also gaining ground in LaLiga.
With Lookman already grabbing a goal and an assist in the Copa Del Rey against Barcelona, this also won’t be an occasion that’s too big for him, although he has learned from the first two matches against them.
“There’s a lot to take away from both games, home and away, and you know, we’ve obviously learned from that, and we’re still learning from that,” Lookman said. “We’re going to take some stuff away from that. And on every occasion, you can expect something unexpected, and that’s football. But for us, it’s obviously preparing the same way that we’ve been preparing in the best way possible to get the best result.”
There’s only so much that a team can switch things up when facing someone so many times in quick succession, so it’s a good time to keep things simple and see what happens in the long run. Lookman, settling in quickly, will have him as a focus for the attack as the club has welcomed him in, and fellow former Atalanta players Juan Musso and Matteo Ruggeri were able to help Lookman get settled.
“Normally, once you join a team, you kind of go to who you’re most familiar with, and obviously, um, I kind of stuck around them in the beginning, of course, and as time goes on, you kind of speak with more people and start to form different relationships with people,” Lookman said.
Now that he’s coming into his own and also growing in the defensive side of his game under Simeone, this is a time where he’ll be expected to impact the side. He has already learned a lot while in LaLiga and is able to use his pace to make an impact, which can give Barcelona’s high line a nightmare in these fixtures. Repetition and being able to improve as an all-around player in a short period of time show how much of a difference things have been for the Nigerian so far. Now, he’ll have to keep it going on the biggest stage.
