Ademola Lookman believes the race for the Serie A top goalscorer is not important after grabbing his 12th league goal of the season in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Sampdoria.
The effort took Lookman within a goal of compatriot Victor Osimhen who leads at the top of the charts with his side Napoli taking on AS Roma at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.
“Individual awards are different, it’s the team that counts,” Lookman told DAZN after the match.
“They’re not really important, we got the three points and we keep fighting in every race, I don’t think about it. I’m just worried about helping the team.
“I work hard and focus more on the little things and the bigger ones. I’m in a good moment, I score and help the team, things are working out.”
5 – Goals in 2023 in the Big-5 European leagues:
5⃣ Ademola #Lookman 🇳🇬
4⃣ Victor Osimhen 🇳🇬
4⃣ Lautaro Martínez 🇦🇷
4⃣ Erling Haaland 🇳🇴
4⃣ Wissam Ben Yedder 🇫🇷Predator.#AtalantaSamp #AtalantaSampdoria #SerieA pic.twitter.com/ZT3rMPZe7z
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) January 28, 2023
With 14 goals in the all competitions, Lookman has now bettered his last five seasons at four different clubs (Everton, RB Leipzig, Fulham and Leicester City) were he scored a combined total of 12 goals.
Lookman stated his transformation was not a surprise to him but rather something he expected.
“Yes! Of course, I expected it. Maybe it’s a surprise to you, but I know what I can bring, I know what I can do. The team is the most important thing,” he told Sky Sports Italia after the win vs Sampdoria.
“Different circumstances, different scenarios that made me who I am today and that’s me as a whole person. I think I’m in the right moment, doing the right things, keep staying disciplined in what I do.”
Atalanta are now tied with AC Milan in third place and are just two points behind Inter Milan in second. It marks a very solid season where La Dea have lost just four games all season. While the prospect of a return to the Champions League next season is exciting, Lookman is taking things cautiously.
“We take it game by game. We got three points, we’ve got another game in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday and yeah, we just keep on fighting,” the 25-year old said.
Atalanta will play Juventus in the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia at the San Siro on Tuesday after which they travel to the Mapei Stadium to tackle Sassuolo in the league on Saturday.
