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History-makers Atalanta reach Europa League final

football09 May 2024 21:00
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Atalanta reached the Europa League final on Thursday after beating Marseille 3-0 to claim the biggest win in the Italian club's history.

Goals from Ademola Lookman, academy product Matteo Ruggieri and El Bilal Toure put Atalanta through to their first ever European final with a 4-1 aggregate win in front of delirious fans in Bergamo.

Atalanta's passage to the Dublin final later this month was fully deserved after a dominant performance in which Marseille barely had a kick in yet another poor away display from the Ligue 1 outfit.

Marseille have won just four games on the road in all competitions this season and once Ruggieri put Atalanta two ahead in the 52nd minute Jean-Louis Gasset's team had no way back, Toure adding the icing on the cake in stoppage time.

Atalanta, a traditionally provincial team who have under Gian Piero Gasperini habitually punched above their weight, could now end the season with two trophies as they face Juventus in the Italian Cup on Wednesday.

That is a remarkable achievement for a club whose only major trophy is the 1963 Italian Cup, while the furthest Atalanta had previously gone in European competition was the last four in the 1988 Cup Winners' Cup when they were a second-division team.

Atalanta can also qualify for next season's revamped Champions League through Serie A as they currently sit in Italy's fifth and final position for Europe's top club competition.

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