Atalanta thrash Sassuolo without AFCON-bound Super Eagles star Ademola Lookman

Atalanta are through to the next round of the Coppa Italia after a commanding 3-1 victory against Sassuolo on Wednesday night.

Charles De Ketelaere was the star of the night as Atalanta advanced to the quarterfinals despite missing key forward Ademola Lookman.

Lookman was unavailable for the Coppa Italia clash as he is currently with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON. 

The 26-year-old was one of 25 players listed for the AFCON2023 by Super Eagles manager, Jose Peseiro.

Lookman signed off in style with the winner against Lecce at the weekend before reporting to the Nigerian camp in Abu Dhabi.

But in his absence, Atalanta were inspired by De Ketelaere, who stole the show in the round of 16 clash at Bergamo.

The 22-year-old was involved in all the goals for Atalanta as he netted a brace and assisted the third. 

It took just 24 minutes for Atalanta to break the deadlock, with De Ketelaere putting them ahead with a lovely strike. 

The Belgian would double the advantage after the hour mark with his second of the game before he set up Aleksey Miranchuk to wrap things up with 19 minutes left to play. 

Daniel Boloca pulled one back for the visitors but it was rather too late to inspire any unexpected fightback. 

While Lookman's speed and scoring touch were missed up front, Atalanta showed that they have plenty of firepower to cope without their impressive top scorer this season.

However, they would hope to have their forward back as soon as possible as they aim to improve their position in the Serie A and win the Coppa Italia.

Lookman was part of the Nigerian squad that trained for the first time in Abu Dhabi ahead of the Super Eagles' quest to lift the 2023 AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.