Diego Simeone Reacts After Lookman's Record-Breaking Goal in Atletico’s Loss to Real Madrid
- Diego Simeone has spoken glowingly about Ademola Lookman after he scored against Real Madrid despite the loss
- Lookman opened the scoring with a brilliant strike in his first Madrid derby at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
- The home team fought back and won the intense encounter thanks to Vinicius Jr’s second-half goal for 10-men Madrid
Diego Simeone has heaped praises on Ademola Lookman after his goal against Real Madrid, despite Atletico Madrid suffering a defeat at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, March 22, 2026.
Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid clashed in an intense derby, which culminated in five goals, five yellow cards and a red card for Federico Valverde.
Source: Getty Images
Ademola Lookman opened the scoring for the away side with a brilliant strike to help Simeone’s men finish the first half with a one-goal advantage.
According to Opta Jose, the former Atalanta star became the eighth Atletico player to score in his first Madrid derby, the first since Luciano Vietto in 2015.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s men fought back with two goals in three second-half minutes from Vinicius Jr from the spot and a strike from Valverde.
Argentine defender Nahuel Molina equalised with a thunderous strike, Vinicius scored again to put Madrid in the lead to seal the win in the cracking match.
Madrid moved up to within four points of Barcelona at the top of the table, while Atletico dropped to fourth after Villarreal beat Real Sociedad to move up to third.
Diego Simeone praises Ademola Lookman
Atletico boss Simeone was full of admiration for the Super Eagles forward despite his team suffering a narrow loss to their city rivals in a crucial match.
The Argentine manager, despite the goal, noted Lookman’s defensive improvement as an advantage to the team, as well as his versatility.
“Well, Lookman is improving, he’s been working very hard. The thing is, he’s been playing in different attacking roles, and we need him to do that,” he said as quoted by Futbol Fantasy.
“We’re also helping him get better at defending so he can support our team’s defense. He’s already able to do that because he’s a young player with a big heart and a strong desire to learn and get better.
“So that’s fantastic, and hopefully he’ll continue to contribute important moments like he did today.”
Source: Getty Images
According to Transfermarkt, he has five goals and four assists in 14 matches in all competitions, since switching to Madrid from Atalanta in January.
Lookman will fly to Antalya, Turkey to team up with the Super Eagles’ squad for the friendly matches against Iran and Jordan in a four-nation invitational tournament.
Lookman to lead Super Eagles in friendlies
Legit.ng analysed Lookman as a player under spotlight when Nigeria takes on the Iranian and Jordanian national teams in a friendly match.
Galatasaray forward Victor Osimhen was left out of the team even before his injury against Liverpool in the Champions League, leaving the attacking responsibilities to Lookman.
Source: Legit.ng
