{"id":199109,"date":"2026-04-19T18:43:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final"},"modified":"2026-04-19T18:43:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T17:43:58","slug":"simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sport\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final","title":{"rendered":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>Atletico Madrid head coach, Diego Simeone, has given a reason why he substituted Ademola Lookman during the Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday night.<\/p>\n<p>The Nigerian forward had played a pivotal role in Atletico Madrid\u2019s response after falling behind early in the encounter.<\/p>\n<p>Lookman was on the scoresheet as Atletico Madrid played a 2-2 draw against Real Sociedad after 120 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>But Sociedad ended up winning the trophy on a 4-3 penalty victory.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about Lookman\u2019s substitution in the 62nd minute, Simeone told reporters at his post-match press conference: \u201cBecause I understood that with Sorloth playing there as a number nine, we could create more scoring opportunities, and that Julia\u0301n could fulfil Lookman\u2019s role.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Nigeria<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. Atletico Madrid head coach, Diego Simeone, has given a reason why he substituted Ademola Lookman during the Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday night. The Nigerian forward had played a pivotal role in Atletico Madrid\u2019s response after falling behind early in the encounter. Lookman was on the scoresheet [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":199108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[254],"class_list":["post-199109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-nigeria"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. Atletico Madrid head coach, Diego Simeone, has given a reason why he substituted Ademola Lookman during the Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday night. The Nigerian forward had played a pivotal role in Atletico Madrid\u2019s response after falling behind early in the encounter. Lookman was on the scoresheet [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-19T17:43:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T17:43:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\"},\"wordCount\":143,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Nigeria\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\",\"name\":\"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final - Nigeria\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-19T17:43:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg\",\"width\":1728,\"height\":1168,\"caption\":\"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/\",\"name\":\"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final - Nigeria","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final","og_description":"Africa-Press &#8211; Nigeria. Atletico Madrid head coach, Diego Simeone, has given a reason why he substituted Ademola Lookman during the Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday night. The Nigerian forward had played a pivotal role in Atletico Madrid\u2019s response after falling behind early in the encounter. Lookman was on the scoresheet [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final","og_site_name":"Nigeria","article_published_time":"2026-04-19T17:43:58+00:00","author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final","datePublished":"2026-04-19T17:43:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final"},"wordCount":143,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg","keywords":["Nigeria"],"articleSection":["all news","Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final","name":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final - Nigeria","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-19T17:43:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2026\/04\/sm_1776626390.44861.jpg","width":1728,"height":1168,"caption":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/simeone-explains-lookman-substitution-in-copa-del-rey-final#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Simeone Explains Lookman Substitution in Copa del Rey Final"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/","name":"Africa Press | Nigeria | Homepage","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/author\/cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199109"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199109\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}