Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-0 Victory at Roma; Key Moments and Highlights
Bayer Leverkusen showcased their dominance yet again, securing a remarkable 2-0 victory over Roma in the Europa League semifinals.
This win not only extends Leverkusen’s unbeaten streak to an astounding 47 matches across all competitions but also serves as a sweet revenge, considering Roma had defeated them in the same stage last season.
No team in any of the five major leagues in Europe—Germany, England, Italy, Spain, and France—has gone longer without a loss.
Amine Adli, a midfielder for Leverkusen, stated, “We take things game by game and we are not thinking about being unbeaten.” “We are playing this way and the team is strong because we are not thinking about making history or anything like that. All we want is to have fun.
Leverkusen had some payback from the outcome, as Roma had defeated the German team at this exact same stage the previous season, which was their first European loss.
Adli remarked, “We are aware that playing here is difficult.” “We engaged in a very somber game.”
Leverkusen’s last loss in all competitions was on May 27, 2023, a nearly a year ago, when they lost 3-0 to Bochum in the Bundesliga’s final round of the previous season.
Romelu Lukaku’s early header off the crossbar made Roma seem menacing. However, seven minutes later, Leverkusen scored on the counterattack.
Leverkusen went up three on one after Roma right back Rick Karsdorp failed to pass under pressure from Alex Grimaldo on the left wing. Then Grimaldo handed it to Florian Wirtz, who stepped in coolly from the middle of the space.
Just when Roma had been posing a threat on the other end, Leverkusen’s midfielder Robert Andrich added another goal in the 73rd minute with a long-range effort.
In the other semifinal, Atalanta and Marseille tied 1-1.
The second legs will take place on Thursday of next week, and the final will take place in Dublin on May 22.
Leverkusen has only ever won one European championship: the UEFA Cup in 1988. The Europa League was not yet created at that time. Real Madrid won the 2002 Champions League, which was its only previous European final.
After defeating Sevilla in a penalty shootout in the Europa League final last year and winning the Europa Conference League in 2022, Roma is hoping to make it to its third straight European final.
In January, Daniele De Rossi took over as Roma’s coach, succeeding Jose Mourinho.
The Giallorossi had not suffered a home defeat in a European knockout round match in seven years, dating back to their 1-0 Europa League loss to Villarreal in 2017.
The pregame dancing of the Roma supporters formed the phrase “AVANZIAMO” (Let’s advance) across one whole end of the stadium. Roma will now have a difficult task in trying to eliminate Leverkusen, a team that has won every game this season.
Marseille- Atalanta
The hard-to-please fans of Marseille gave their players an ovation at Stade Velodrome following the draw with Atalanta, which eliminated Liverpool in the quarterfinals.
After reading a deft feed from Teun Koopmeiners, striker Gianluca Scamacca put Atalanta ahead with a low effort into the bottom corner in the eleventh minute.
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However, Marseille leveled the score in the 20th minute when Chancel Mbemba, a central defender, received a pass from Geoffrey Kondogbia and curled a beautiful shot from the edge of the penalty area that struck the left post and slid in. Marseille pressed forward in the second half and the game was virtually entirely one-way traffic. After a video review, winger Ismaïla Sarr’s goal was disallowed for offside, and in the 73rd minute, substitute Azzedine Ounahi curled a shot that just missed the crossbar.
Europa Conference League
Aston Villa’s chances of making it to a European final since 1982 were shattered when they lost 4-2 at home to Olympiakos in the opening legs of the third-tier competition semifinals. This was the English club’s first defeat at Villa Park in the European campaign.
Despite coming back from a two-goal deficit, Villa was unable to respond to Ayoub El Kaabi’s third goal of the match. With his ninth goal of the season in the tournament, the striker made it 3-2 by converting from the penalty spot. Douglas Luiz blew a penalty for Villa, but Santiago Hezze sealed the victory.
Olympiakos hopes to compete in the May 29 final in Athens on home soil.
El Kaabi had earlier given the visitors the lead with two goals in less than 30 minutes.
In Florence, a stoppage-time goal by substitute M’Bala Nzola gave Fiorentina, the runners-up from the previous season, a 3-2 triumph over 10-man Club Brugge.
Raphael Onyedika of Brugge was sent off after earning his second yellow card on the hour, with the Italian team leading 2-1. However, minutes later, Igor Thiago completed a counter to level for the visitors.
Early on, Riccardo Sottil gave Fiorentina the lead. Hans Vanaken, the captain of Brugge, equalized with a penalty kick, and Andrea Belotti gave Fiorentina the lead again after a rebound.
