Ademola Lookman kicked off the new La Liga season as a centre-forward. He played the full 90 minutes in Atletico Madrid's 2-0 win over Malaga on Wednesday, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
The Nigerian was the only striker in Diego Simeone's 5-4-1 formation. He had two shots on target and forced a great save from the Malaga goalkeeper to help Atletico grab all three points.
Simeone decided to use Lookman up front because his usual strikers were unavailable. Julian Alvarez was not selected, and Alexander Sorloth is out due to injury.
When asked if Lookman could keep playing as a No. 9, Simeone explained he needed to find a new solution with the forwards he had.
“Creativity. Trying to look for what can make us better because we do not have at this moment a forward who can give us (something) from the beginning because Julian was not called up and Sorloth because of his injury,” Simeone said, as quoted by Eldesmarque.
“That position is important and we hope to be able to improve it.”
Lookman's ability to play different roles could help him stay in this position, especially as Atletico deals with their current lack of recognized forwards.
The Nigerian international aims to build on his strong start as Atletico faces Villarreal in their next La Liga match at home on Sunday.
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