Boniface, Tella, Lookman eye historic Europa League final
Three Nigerians could compete for the title in the 2024 Europa League final on May 22 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland.
The second leg of the Europa League semi-final between Roma and high-flying Bayer Leverkusen takes place at BayArena on Thursday, which is today. Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella will be in action.
The two teams will play in the semifinals for the second consecutive year, however the outcomes of the first leg put the newly crowned German champions in the driver's seat to reverse the outcome from the previous year.
Leverkusen won 2-0 in Stadio Olimpico, taking a significant step towards their final matchup with either Marseille or Atalanta.
Leverkusen will look to maintain their 48-game winning streaks and break the record for the longest unbeaten streak with a foot in the Europa League final.
Since Benfica has now matched the record they set in Europe between December 1963 and February 1965, defeating Roma will solidify their historical legacy.
Lookman will try to lead Atalanta to their first-ever Europa League trophy and perhaps their first piece of hardware in 61 years in the other semi-finals match, but first they must clear the hurdle of French powerhouse Marseille at home today.
Lookman is a member of the team that has won 11 straight games on the road in Europe, including a fantastic 3-0 victory against Liverpool at Anfield last month.
They play their home game on Thursday. They have won 11 of their previous 14 games there, and a victory will guarantee them a spot in the championship game against Boniface and Tella's Leverkusen.
There will be three Nigerians competing for honours in the final later this month if Leverkusen and Atalanta do not lose, which implies that at least one Nigerian will be named winner.
Nigerians have been quite successful in Europe's second division recently; Samuel Chukwueze was the latest Nigerian to win the competition in 2021. The AC Milan winger was then at Villarreal, who after a 1-1 draw in normal and extra time, overcame Manchester United 11-10 on penalties.
The only other Nigerian to win the competition twice is Victor Moses, a forward for Spartak Moscow. He did it with Chelsea in 2012–13 and 2018–19, the latter team defeating Arsenal 4-1, with fellow Nigerian Alex Iwobi scoring the game's lone goal.
Moreover, Mikel Obi of Chelsea won it once during the 2012–13 year.
In 2022, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey finished second and third, respectively, after Glasgow Rangers lost to Eintracht Frankfurt on penalties in Seville, Spain.
