Atlético Madrid couldn’t have asked for a louder first impression. Ademola Lookman marked his debut with a goal and an assist as Atlético blew Real Betis away 5-0 to reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Played at Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, Atlético were 3-0 up before half-time through Dávid Hancko, Giuliano Simeone and Lookman. He then set up Antoine Griezmann for the fourth, before Thiago Almada completed the rout late on.
The underlying numbers backed up the hype: Lookman finished with five shots, nine touches in the box and 1.31 expected goals, a debut that felt like he was involved in everything good Atlético did.
It’s a reminder how quickly debuts can swing the mood. Luis Suárez famously came off the bench and scored twice on his Atlético debut against Granada CF in 2020 — but first nights don’t always predict the full story.
