Leverkusen’s miracle continued. A dramatic theater goal in second-half stoppage time extended their unbeaten run to 49 games.
Leverkusen is in the Europa League final. Xabi Alonso’s Leverkusen earned a dramatic 2-2 draw against AS Roma in the second leg of the 2023-2024 Europa League semifinals at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany, on Tuesday (Oct. 10) thanks to a late stoppage-time equalizer from Josip Stanisic. With a 4-2 aggregate win in the first leg, Leverkusen advanced to the Europa League final.
The draw extended Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to 49 games in all competitions. After clinching the league title with 26 wins and six draws, Leverkusen has not lost an official match this season since an 8-0 DFB-Pokal victory over Ottensen on Aug. 12 last year. The record for the longest unbeaten streak in official matches since the inception of the European club competition was held by Benfica (Portugal). The previous record was Celtic’s 62-match unbeaten run from 1915-1916.
Leverkusen, whose unbeaten streak was recently extended by a dramatic goal, played out another thrilling draw. The hosts lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Adam Hlobeck started up front, with Amine Adli, Jonas Hoffmann, and Alejandro Grimaldo in the second line, 안전놀이터 추천 while Granit Xhaka and Ezequiel Palacios made up the midfield. Jeremy Frimpong, Edmond Topsova, Yonatan Tah, and Piero Incapie formed the back four. Macei Kovarsi was in goal.
The visitors Roma lined up in a 4-3-3.
Up front, Romelu Lukaku was flanked by Stephan El Shaarawy and Sardar Azmoun. The midfield consisted of Bryan Cristante, Leandro Paredes, and Lorenzo Pellegrini. The back four was made up of Angelinho, Evan Ndika, Gianluca Mancini, and Leonardo Spinazzola. Mile Svilár wore the goalkeeper’s gloves.
After losing the first leg 0-2, Roma came out aggressively. Lukaku opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Leverkusen responded in the ninth minute with a shot from Xhaka. In the 16th minute, Leverkusen hit back-to-back shots from Palacios and Incapie, and Roma responded in the 17th minute with a shot from Pellegrini. Midway through the first half, Roma had an injury setback. Spinazzola went down with an injury. Nikola Jalevsky came on in the 22nd minute. Leverkusen took advantage of the break and tried to open the scoring with a header from Adli, but it went wide.
Leverkusen’s offense intensified in the middle of the half. Frimpong in the 32nd minute, Hoffmann in the 37th minute, Holozek and Adli in the 39th minute. However, they lacked finishing power. None of them were converted. Roma took the lead after the break. In the 42nd minute, a penalty kick was awarded for a foul on Tah. Paredes stepped up to the spot and neatly converted. The first half ended with Roma leading 1-0.
The second half was even more intense.
Once again, Roma struck first in the fifth minute of the second half. Cristante’s shot went wide. Leverkusen responded in the 9th minute with a shot from Adli. Roma had a good chance in the 11th minute when Azmoun had a good chance, but it was not converted. Roma continued to attack. In the 13th minute, El Shaarawy’s shot was saved by the keeper. Leverkusen responded on the counterattack. Hoffmann had a great chance after a pass from Frimpong. His right-footed shot was saved by Svillar. Leverkusen had back-to-back chances in the 15th and 18th minutes, but they lacked precision.
Roma were one step ahead. In the 18th minute, a Leverkusen player was struck in the hand on a corner kick, leading to a video review. The referee awarded a penalty kick after an on-field review. Paredes stepped up to the spot and converted again. Roma took a 2-0 lead and the score was tied 2-2 on aggregate. Roma brought on Eduardo Bove for Azman.
Leverkusen grew impatient. In the 28th minute, Holozek missed a crucial chance. Leverkusen brought on Patrick Schick to further bolster their attack. Roma fought back. In the 36th minute, Pellegrini brought on striker Tammy Abraham for Pellegrini. At the same time, he brought on Chris Smalling for Angelinho to reinforce Bush. Leverkusen also made a change, bringing on ace Florian Wirz for Hoffmann.
Leverkusen found a way to catch up. Roma’s own goal was unfortunate. In the 38th minute, off a corner kick, Svilár’s misplaced ball hit Mancini in the back of the net. Mancini fell to the ground in agony. Leverkusen regained the lead with a 3-2 aggregate score. Leverkusen, who were still unbeaten, went on the offensive in the final minutes. Frimpong and Adlai had shots on target, but were denied by Svilár.
In the fateful extra time,
Roma needed to score to take the game to extra time, and Leverkusen needed to score to stay unbeaten. The seven minutes of extra time went in Leverkusen’s favor. Leverkusen were the first to score despite Roma’s total offense, as the ball was cleared from a high position and substitute Stanisic beat a defender in the box before slotting home. The game ended 2-2, and Leverkusen remained unbeaten and advanced to the final of the competition.
Leverkusen will be looking to win their second title and first Europa League final since the 1987-88 season, when former national team coach Cha Bum-geun played for them. Their opponent in the final will be Italian sensation Atalanta. 메이저 토토사이트 Atalanta reached the final with a 3-0 victory over Marseille at home. Atalanta will be looking to win their first UEFA-organized competition in 117 years, since their founding in 1907. The trophy would be their first UEFA competition title and their first major trophy since the 1962-1963 season. Atalanta have won lower league titles in the past, but their last major trophy was the Coppa Italia in 1962-1963.
Leverkusen have just four games left to play this season. League games against Bochum and Augsburg, the Europa League final against Atalanta, and the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern. Leverkusen will be challenging their incredible record of going unbeaten in the league and unbeaten in the season at the same time as the treble. Winning three competitions in one season while remaining unbeaten in all competitions is an unheard of feat. Leverkusen has already made history by winning its first title in its 120 years of existence.