Ademola Lookman came off the bench at half-time and set up Julian Alvarez for Atletico Madrid's equaliser in a 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday night. The point leaves Atletico on four from three Champions League games.
Two minutes to change the game
Stuttgart were the better side early on. Jamie Leweling put them ahead in the 36th minute.
Diego Simeone made his move at the break. Off went Jonathan David, on came Lookman. It took the Nigerian about two minutes to make a difference: he found space on the left, played the ball low across the box, and Alvarez finished from close range in the 47th minute, according to the official Bundesliga match report.
Then the night turned again.
Morten Hjulmand was sent off in the 64th minute for a high, open-soled challenge on Angelo Stiller. Atletico spent the last half hour with ten men. Stuttgart pushed hard and ended with 18 shots to 10, Sofascore data showed. The visitors held on.
Simeone, quoted by Legit.ng from the Spanish outlet Analitica Fantasy, said: “I was sure the goal would come and that we could take the game where we wanted.” The red card ended that plan. “We couldn't continue because of the sending-off, and it was a completely different game,” he said.
He also explained why Alexander Sorloth joined Lookman up front. “We brought on Sorloth to partner Lookman and have another striker available.”
Lookman's European week
This came seven days after a big night in Madrid.
On 13 October, Lookman scored the second goal in Atletico's 2-0 win over Manchester United at the Metropolitano, tucking in a rebound in the 79th minute after Senne Lammens had saved from David, as we reported in our piece on Lookman's goal against Manchester United. That was Atletico's first win of the league phase after an opening defeat at Liverpool. Stuttgart, still unbeaten, are three points better off on seven.
Complete Sports put his Champions League return at one goal and one assist in three appearances. Those are decent numbers. Yet the bench role on Tuesday tells its own story. Lookman, who joined from Atalanta in a deal beIN Sports reported at around 35 million euros, is still fighting David, Alvarez and Sorloth for minutes.
Atletico host Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga on Saturday, 24 October.
What it means for the Super Eagles
Eric Chelle will have watched this one with interest. November matters.
Nigeria are second in Group L of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers on three points. Guinea-Bissau lead on six after beating the Super Eagles 3-0 in Bissau at the end of September. That result wiped out much of the good feeling from the opening 2-1 home win over Madagascar. Tanzania come next. They are already sure of a place at the finals as co-hosts, and the first of the two meetings is in Uyo on 11 November, as set out in our piece on the venue for Nigeria v Tanzania.
Chelle needs six points from that double-header. A sharp Lookman would help.
Whether he starts in Uyo is another matter.
This article was most recently revised and updated 8 seconds ago
