Best night of my life - Ademola Lookman declares after becoming first player to score a hat-trick in a Europa League final

Ademola Lookman labelled his historic hat-trick performance in Atalanta's Europa League final triumph as the ‘best night’ of his life after the Nigerian shot down Bundesliga Invincibles Bayer Leverkusen.

The 26-year-old forward was the hero in Dublin, his explosive treble securing a 3-0 win and inflicting a first defeat of the season on the previously unbeaten German champions.

In the process, Lookman has engraved his name into several history books including becoming the first Nigerian and player in the world to net a hat-trick in a European final.

And the magnitude of his achievement was not lost on the former Everton and RB Leipzig man in the euphoric aftermath at the Aviva Stadium.

His dream treble rounded off a fairytale campaign in Italy following his summer move from Leipzig, where he had struggled to make an impact.

Lookman's 15 goals and eight assists across competitions played a pivotal role in firing Atalanta to an unexpected European final and ensured his name will be forever remembered in the club's history.

But his hat-trick heroics went one step further, shattering Bayer Leverkusen's dreams of an unprecedented unbeaten Europa League campaign as they aimed to add that to their Bundesliga invincibility.

The Nigerian duo of Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella were powerless to stop Lookman's explosive display despite their own immense contributions in writing Leverkusen's name into German football immortality.

While devastated at missing the trophy, the pair will be comforted by their fairytale domestic season, with the DFB-Pokal final still to play for.

But this was Lookman's moment to savour as his romantic journey from non-league obscurity has now culminated in delirious celebrations on the biggest stage.