Leverkusen beat Roma to make Europa League final

LEVERKUSEN, MAY 10: Bayer Leverkusen are through to the Europa League final 4-2 on aggregate after a stoppage-time goal from Josip Stanisic snatched a 2-2 draw at home on Thursday, extending their unbeaten run to a record 49 games.

In a rematch of last seasons Europa League semi-final, Roma came to Leverkusen 2-0 down after the first leg but levelled the tie up despite having little possession thanks to penalties in each half from Leandro Paredes.

With the tie heading for extra time, Alex Grimaldo curled in a corner which goalie Mile Svilar failed to catch, the ball going into the net after bouncing off Roma defender Gianluca Mancini.
Stanisic then kept Leverkusens stunning record of late goals alive by scoring on the counter in the seventh minute of added time, breaking Benficas European unbeaten record dating back to 1965.

"We had chances to score goals early and didn -- but hey we will in Dublin," Leverkusen boss Alonso told RTL.
"It was a special evening. There were tense moments but it showed the personality and the mentality of the team."
"We didn know ourselves how we were 2-0 behind," Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka said.

"To come back against a team like this is unbelievable -- our desire is incredible. We e in the final, we e on our way to making our dream a reality and will do everything to bring the trophy back to Leverkusen."

Bundesliga champions Leverkusen will meet Atalanta, who beat Marseille 3-0 (4-1 on aggregate), in the final in Dublin on May 22 with hopes of a remarkable treble still alive.

Alonso again mixed things up tactically and made six changes including surprisingly leaving star attackers Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface and former Roma striker Patrik Schick on the bench, instead leading the line with Adam Hlozek.

The changes did not impact Leverkusens rhythm as the hosts exploded onto the pitch, carving Roma up with creative, fluid movement.

Roma by contrast brought the fight and tried to unsettle the Bundesliga champions, picking up four yellow cards inside the opening 30 minutes.

Exequiel Palacios was the target for much of Romas roughhousery but the Argentinian World Cup winner almost had revenge after 29 minutes when his low shot hit the inside of the post and came close to bouncing in off goalkeeper Svilars back.

Svilar produced a spectacular double save to keep out shots from Amine Adli and Hlozek on the 38-minute mark.

Roma sent a long ball up the other end and within moments the referee pointed to the spot, after Romas Bayer Leverkusen-loanee Sardar Azmoun went down in a tussle with Jonathan Tah.

Palacios Argentinian teammate Paredes sent the ball down the middle and Roma were 1-0 up and back into the tie just before half-time.

The second half began like the first, with Leverkusen unable to make their dominance count on the scoreboard -- before Roma won another spot-kick, this time via VAR for a handball against Hlozek.  

Roma held on for dear life and went to ground frequently to hold onto the lead, reminiscent of their performance at the same venue in last years semi-final which netted a 0-0 draw and a spot in the final.    —AFP